#and if gabby is injured the only one he really knows can do that is leo

[odegoob]

leo scoring off the bench is great bc it is a leo goal and I will want those always. leo scoring off the bench is not great bc it brings back the selective amnesia people who say he has no impact when starting

[jaymber]

6, 12, 20, 23, 35, 42, 45, 48. Your choice who gets which questions :)

6. If they were badly injured, and for whatever reason couldn't go to a hospital, who would they go to for help?

Silver doesn't have a designated ripperdoc in Night City. Their netrunning and quick reflexes protect them from most dangers. Even if they did end up hurt, they're the type to run home and patch themself up on their own.

If their wounds were deeper, and they needed medical help, they'd probably run to the Voodoo Boys. Well, they'd run to Placide, who'd drag them to the nearest ripperdoc.

12. Do they have any sense of style? Regardless of the answer do they believe they have a sense of style?

Linda's style is pretty much anything colorful that catches her eye. She mixes and matches without ever caring about the latest fashions, or even color theory, yet she's sure she's got a strong sense of style! She's proud of the pieces she found in thrift stores (or at her one-night stands' 🤫).

20. Do they have a strong connection to their culture?

Amy's Thai-American. Her parents have always been nomads, so they've been disconnected from their culture for a while. After settling in Night City, Amy reconnected with her culture, as well as Buddhism. The connection still isn't that strong, but it's growing 😌

23. How would they want to die?

Gabby is technically immortal. They cannot be killed but for one way (it's a secret 🤭). Still, Gabby likes to dwell on philosophy and has thought about their death before. They want to die before being too old, before losing their natural beauty. They want to go out with a bang. They hope their death with be recorded and kept in many people's memories. They want their death to be a tragedy, a legend talked about for generations!

35. Do they believe in fate or do they believe they are in charge of their own destiny?

Vaea prefers to believe everything happened to him for a reason, cause he doesn't want to believe that the world just sucks sometimes. Every good or bad thing that happened to him had to come his way. He especially believes that he was meant to meet Johnny, fall for him and Kerry. He feels better when he's not in charge on a daily basis, and letting his own life in the hands of a higher power is an idea that soothes him.

42. Can they speak multiple languages? If yes which all do they speak and why?

Gabby was born in the NUSA from an Italian father and a Kuwaiti mother. They grew up learning all three languages (English, Italian, Arabic). They've also learned some German, Mandarin, French and Spanish at school. They weren't really taught, more like infused with the knowledge thanks to chips.

Later in life, they went through advanced Japanese training in order to infiltrate Arasaka better.

Now though, they only like speaking English and Arabic.

45. Do they plan in advance or just wing it?

Linda is a pretty good liar. She's the kind of girl who'll pretend that everything went like she had planned to, and adds details to prove it, but she cannot plan in advance and only wings it. She tries to stay aware of what other people might or might not know, so she can create the perfect story anyone can believe!

48. How likely are they to go on a quest for revenge?

Flavio won't get even if it's only about himself. If someone wrongs him, he'll just forgive and forget. If someone wants to hurt him, he'll stop them but won't go further in retaliation. But if that someone hurts his family and friends, he becomes relentless. He's overly protective of Linda, hence why she doesn't tell him anything anymore cause she feels infantilized by his behavior. If he's on an eye-for-an-eye principle with anyone trying to harm her, it's even worse if anyone would try to hurt Silver. He knows his hands have been dirtied enough from the War, ending one more life wouldn't weigh much on his soul…

[absurdthirst]

Long time fan, first time caller!! I was wondering if you could please spill the tea how The Boys™️ might react to a soulmate reveal? Would they be the type more to run from destiny or take charge and launch into full on ✨you’re with me now✨ style protection mode? I’m talking the whole charcuterie board for our favorite charcuties—from standard first word, last word fare to names, timers, dream sharing, colors at first sight... maybe even the elusive bumps and bruises share, totally up to you😄

Soulmate Reveals: 

Javier: His tattoo is small, on his wrist and he wears his watch over it. He ignores the name as often as he can. He doesn’t think the soulmate thing is for him. Hell, he tried to marry Lorriane to convince himself otherwise, but ended up not being able to do it. So when you introduce yourself, even though he doesn’t want to, he can’t help but zone in on the name matching the one on his wrist. Fuck all if he isn’t going to try to run from it. Visits Gabby and Freckles twice as often and avoids you for awhile. This job is dangerous as fuck and he doesn’t want to pretend like he deserves to have a chance with you. You will have to chase him down and convince him that you can get through this together. 

Ezra: Yours and Ezra’s soulmate identifiers are something that you suffered for. You take the pain of your soulmate. So when his arm was being cut off on The Green, you were in agony, screaming on the floor of the med bay on the freighter. You had plenty of past issues but this one was the worst. You didn’t know how you made it through that, and then when he was stabbed, you were begging for relief. Ezra figured out it was you when Cee brought him to the medical facility after they got back. The doctors talking about you agonizing few days and how they didn’t know how you had withstood it. When he tested the theory, stubbornly insisting that the doctors poke and prod some part of you, he gasped when he felt the pain. When you wake up, you will have a very apologetic Ezra making your aquantice. 

Mando: You would never know about the fact that the imposing beskar covered warrior is your soul mate. You never see a strip of his skin so how could you know that you had a soulmate tattoo that matched his own on your back. You had never understood why your soulmate tattoo was a star map of a planet you had never been to. Aq Vetina, you had learned that the planet had been taken over by battle droids during the clone wars, and most had been killed or fled. You never said anything to Mando, he only discovered it when you had been injured and he tended your wound. It will be awhile before he actually tells you, needing to work through his own thoughts about it. 

Catfish: The countdown to when you meet your soulmate is nerve wracking. It’s something that you hadn’t really believed in, especially when you seem to have the worst luck. What soulmate would want you? Catfish ran for years from the idea of soulmate. Especially when his timer just seemed to take forever. He’s learned from his mistakes now but still feels like it’s not going to happen. Your meet up is something that you will laugh about years later. Only the two of you would meet on a deserted road in the middle of nowhere when your car blows a tire. Guess who just happened to be the only person on that road going for a late night ride when your timers hit zero when he stopped to ask if you needed a hand?

Tovar: Colors had never been something that Tovar cared about. Why did he want to see blood? The grey dreariness of the world suited the mercenary just find. He was hundreds of leagues from his home, if he could call where he was born home. He really had no home. Until he came across your village. You were an unexpected surprise. Just meant to be a place to stay for the night before he moved on. When you looked up at him from where you were picking the vegetables out of your garden it was like the world exploded into color in front of him. Even then, he’s going to leave, thinking that there is no future for someone like him with you. He’s gone a week before he’s back to hang up his sword for good.

Agent Whiskey: This man runs from your first words like his ass is on fire. You can’t be his soulmate. His soulmate is already gone, buried years ago. Stubbornly denies it for all that he is worth. How was he to know that he had two soulmates that would speak the same words to him the first time they meet him? 

Max Phillips: Fights this shit for all he is worth. Soulmates. He doesn’t have a soul anymore, how could he possibly have a soulmate?

Marcus Pike: What are you talking about? This man is ready for this. He’s just waiting for that timer to count down to when he is supposed to meet the soulmate for him. Already planning ask if you want to move in. You are his soulmate, what better way to get to know you?

Oberyn: His soulmate you might be, but you cannot trap the Prince of Dorne. His heart is yours, it’s true. It’s visible for all to see by the names that are tattooed into your bodies since birth. He acknowledges it, welcomes it even. But you need to be able to accept that he is not one to be caged, nor will he cage you. 

Max Lord: Dream sharing is a very scary thing with him. He fights it, even when in your dreams. You are from very different backgrounds and there are a lot of disturbing dreams that you experience with Max. He’s ultimately embarrassed by his dreams, but slowly your own soothe him. He finds himself looking forward to sleep so that he can see you again, so that you can show him the way that you want to be, how you want to treat him. 

Marcus Moreno: He doesn’t fight it, but he’s wary. He never expected to have another soulmate. When his wife died, the color in his world went with her. He had gotten used to it, the whites and greys of the world becoming normal for him. So when running into you, literally running into you in the hallway of the Heroics headquarters makes his entire world go colorful again, he’s shocked. One awkward conversation later, and he’s basically taking the rest of the day off of work and pulling Missy out of school to talk to his daughter about this. Later on, he will approach you again and apologize for running off, explaining why he was so awkward and offering to take you to dinner to get to know you. 

MasterList

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[shelby-love]

JAY HALSTEAD

The Freeing Bliss of Adrenaline

Requested: yes

Prompts: none

Warning(s): angsty, happy ending

Author's note: Haven't written for Jay in a while! This will be the last one shot of the year. I've been working on imagines the entire day. Now I'll take some time off since New Year is in less than a hour! p.s. I just added some more spice to Jay’s fight! How’d you like it?

Happy New Near!!!!!

Note: It's important that you guys read my newest Hank Voight one shot to not be confused further into this one. Click here!

~

"Relax babe I'll be fine," You smiled impishly at Jay and leaned against your newest child. The large two-wheeled beauty was the highlight of your day.

But Jay eyed your Yamaha r6 skeptically. He saw a fair number of criminals die from crashing motorcycles less intimidating than the one behind you. He trusted you to be careful, but it didn't help him sleep at night any better than he did before. The damned matte black motorcycle was the cause of his nightmares.

"Just," He sighed. "Be careful."

You chuckled in adoration and kissed him. The two of you were aesthetically pleasing to see. Especially next to your large motorcycle.

"I'll see you at 7?" He nodded in confirmation and helped you with your helmet.

For effect, he slapped the top of it and didn't leave until you were out of his line of vision.

Jay rolled his eyes when you purred the engine for effect.

***

The motorcycle ride through the tunnel was freeing, especially upon exiting it.

Jay didn't understand how freeing the rides you've had felt. You left your worries behind in the dust whenever you roared the engine. You felt like you could do anything.

Your left hand is working the clutch and the turn signal, your right hand is working the front brake, your right foot is working the rear brake, and your left foot is working the gears up & down. The ride was a physical & emotional pleasure, with a layer of anxiety & adrenaline.

For a moment you wanted to close your eyes. To enjoy the feeling of freedom.

But you snapped out of it, just like every time; Jay's words rung in your mind. Be careful.

You were.

But the car that slammed into you wasn't.

***

The members of firehouse 51 arrived on scene in recod time. People were watching on the side next to their cars; the whole road was blocked with cars.

"I didn't know what to do," The officer on scene told Matt. "The motorcycle's crushing her, but I didn't want to do anything until you guys got here."

"Her?" He asked, surprised to hear it. "It's a good thing you didn't move her." That cop did exactly the right thing by not moving the weight off you until they had facility to adequately treat any injuries.

"She looks experienced," The man  sighed with anxiety, looking as if he aged 20 years in a span of 15 minutes. "The motorcycle's a Yamaha r6. Definitely not a beginner's bike."

The smoke that came from the bike was enough to quicken their pace. "All hands-on deck." Matt announced and proceeded to give out orders.

"Otis get the backboard."

"On it."

The rest of the men appeared around you. Severide at the front. It only took him a glance at your custom-made helmet to know that it was you. "Holy shit..."

"What's wrong Severide?" Cruz asked him.

"That's Y/N."

"Who's she?" The team asked him.

"Jay's girlfriend." Severide whispered. "Hey you!"

The cop turned to him, trauma in his eyes. "Call Intelligence."

"Why? This isn't a crime scene."

"That's Jay Halstead's girlfriend on the ground. Get him here now!"

Back where you were, truck was discussing your situation.

"We need to get this bike off her," Gabby said hurriedly.

"81 watch for the hot pipes," The team was working on getting it off you. "This thing's a beast, got to weight 500 lbs." Matt said.

"Okay easy guys," Sylvie had your helmet in her hands. "Possible spinal injury and head trauma."

"Okay let's get this off," All hands were truly on deck as Casey counted down to three. They took your demolished motorcycle and placed it away from you.

"Jay's gonna freak," Severide commented when his eyes fell on your leg. It was completely crushed. Red with blood and completely split in half.

"We need to get the helmet off of her." Sylvie instructed, changing places.

"Alright Mouch."

It was hard for you to decipher the voices because little did they know...

You were conscious under there.

You barely recognized Severide as he barked out commands left and right.

You felt the strap of your custom-made helmet being cut off. The pain that shot through your leg when they secured it had you wincing to the pint your lip started to bleed.

When they took it off it took several seconds for the light to push through to you. You could barely breathe, let alone move your neck to look at the firefighters credited as your lifesavers. Severide cupped the back of your neck and you could only look at him.

"Kelly..." You murmured, tears gathering in your eyes. The times he and Jay had told you to be careful...

You should have listened.

"Y/N don't move. You're okay," He reassured you but you only widened your eyes. "You've been in an accident."

Tears started to fall. "Kelly..."

"No don't speak," He said quietly.

You coughed, "The...other..."

"The other?" He repeated.

"Collision..."

They were losing you. "Hey! Y/N stay with me! What collision?"

A few meters away, Matt and Boden inspected the road and the remains of your bike. "It's dented. Like someone crashed into her."

Kelly's screams brought them back to reality and Matt ran to get you.

He crouched down, his face hovering over you and blocking the sun. "Y/N did someone else crash into you?"

More tears started to fall. "They fell...off."

Boden looked around until he noticed several aggressive lines from tires scattered around the road.

He stepped closer to the edge and looked.

Until he saw.

"This is Battalion Chief 25," He radioed. "We need another ambulance to our location. This was a vehicle collision. I repeat a vehicle collision!"

***

"She still hasn't woken up," Will told his younger brother. "The injuries she sustained were more dangerous than we thought."

"Will what the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"There were some complications with the surgery," Will tried to reason calmly. "She started hemorrhaging. They got the bleeding under control, but they had to put her in a medically induced coma. Hey! Jay wait- "

The detective stormed outside. The ringing in his head was getting louder and the voices around him became a distant callout.

Two arms stopped him from raging out.

He pushed and pulled but the man before him didn't move.

Kelly didn't move.

"Jay man, you need to stop!"

He didn't stop. Not even when Sharon Goodwill came to break them apart herself. Jay pushed through and disappeared outside, not daring to enter a car because of what had happened to you.

Kelly and Will found him in a bar eventually.

They took him home, watched over his place as he showered the alcohol off. They helped him in bed, even pulled the covers over him like you used to.

Jay's body was warm under the covers, but deep within he was anything but.

He missed your presence in the bed, your body against his in the shower…

Even your jokes during dinner.

It wasn't the same without you. He wasn't the same.

But no one understood him.

Only you did.

But you were in a coma. Unreachable.

He hugged your pillow on which traces of your perfume still lingered and cried like a baby.

***

The man rushed at Jay, his fist pulled back by a mile to punch him. Jay ducked but the man growled and started swinging punches at him. It came to a point of giving up for the man. Jay was ducking, backing up, sliding to the side; doing all the things needed to slip right through his fingers. He moved quickly, confident in his abilities.

Jay sidestepped before thrusting his fist against the man's face, reeling the man back so he staggered on his feet. A stray of blood fell out of his mouth, but not even that was stopping Jay from doing more damage.

Whatever force had him possessed, it wasn't letting go.

Jay slammed his fist into the man's face like the impact didn't bother him at all. The man smashed into a wall, fell to his knees, and clutched his face and trembled as his head fell forward. Jay placed a foot on the back of his head and slammed his face on the ground without thinking twice. The man groaned but didn't give up.

He twisted his body under the pressure of Jay's boot and grabbed his ankle.

It really didn't take long before Jay had him completely pinned to the ground again. He started throwing punches to his face until there was nothing but blood coating his hands.

He broke his nose, knocked out his teeth and broke his jaw.

Maybe even more.

He couldn't take a better look because he was taken away.

"What the hell is your problem Halstead!?" His sergeant barked.

"He deserved it." Jay mumbled. It really was his only excuse.

"If you're not fit to work," Voight neared his face to Jay's. "I'll take you off the case."

"You can't."

Hank only shook his head, "I can, and I will. Listen… You're a good kid Halstead and I'm sorry for what happened to Y/N but that's not an excuse for what you just did, and you know it."

"Get yourself together." Was the last thing Hank told him before he disappeared.

His girlfriend and the newest member of Intelligence took pity and came to his side. "She's going to be fine, Jay."

"You don't know that" Jay mumbled.

She only smiled sadly, "I've been there."

"You ride motorcycles?"

She shook her head with a roll of her eyes, "No. I was shot while working for the FBI. Hostage situation. I was one of them. A part of the reason why I joined special operations but that's a story for another day."

She leaned against the car with him, "As I was saying... I was badly injured, Jay. The doctors had to put me in a medically induced coma too."

"How'd you get through it?" He asked. She shone in a completely different light to him now.

"The people that mean the most to me were by my side. For me it was family that helped me push through and fight," she sighed, her hands twined together. "You're her anchor Jay. And if you're not being strong for her... Who will she lean onto? Who will help her push through and fight?"

"Doctors believe hearing stories in parents' and siblings' voices exercises the parts of the brain responsible for long-term memories." She recalled what was once told to her.

 "Hey detective! Sergeant Voight is asking for you," A police officer yelled a couple yards away. Voight's girlfriend smiled and Jay could swear that he could see blush taint her cheeks. Jay and you won 20 bucks a few months back thanks to her and her blush.

"Be what your sergeant is to me."

Jay nodded smiling.

Before she was out of his line of vision she turned back and yelled to him, "Maybe take a shower too! I heard that helps!"

He rolled his eyes at her.

***

When he sat at your hospital bed, he didn't know what to say. Every word mattered to him. It's been weeks since the last time you opened your eyes.

And in those weeks a lot of things happened to him.

He hoped that now, after all that had happened, he was good enough of an anchor for you to hold onto.

He grabbed your small hand in his bigger one and kissed the back of it. You looked peaceful. Not your usual bubbly self; the version of yourself that lived for adrenaline and everything life had to offer.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you," He started, brushing a stray strand of hair from your face. "I didn't know what to do…"

"I had your bike fixed," He informed quietly. "Although I don't think you'll ever want to sit on one again."

He paused. "But then again… You're batshit crazy."

Jay spent a long time talking to you about a million things. He made up for the times he failed to be there with you.

"Detective Halstead?" A nurse had joined him in the room. "Visiting hours are over."

"Oh," Was all he said. "I guess I should get going?"

She smiled sadly.

With a torturous sigh, he leaned down and kissed you. A tiny piece of his heart broke at the lack of response your once warm, now cold lips gave him. "It's not the same without you."

***

Chicago's cold wisps of air hit him without mercy the moment he stepped out. No one really payed him much mind. Occasional glances from girls that were passing by was something he was used to.

He was searching for his car when a figure jumped in front of him.

"Geez Will," Jay sighed. "The hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," He was beaming like a madman.

"Whatever it is you came here to tell me, just say it." He grumbled.

"Y/N labs came back."

Jay stopped in his tracks and turned to face his brother. For the first time in weeks he had hope shining within his irises.

"And?"

"She pulled through. They'll wake her up tomorrow."

Before another word could leave his mouth, Jay hugged him like his life depended on it.

It did in a way.

He broke down at the parking lot in the arms of his brother having gotten the best news ever.

"Let's get you home bro. You'll see Y/N tomorrow."

Tags: @lorenakaspersen​​ @fofisstilinski​ @short-potato​​ @miranda0102​​  @saracabbage​​

Let me know if you want to be added to my tag list (pinned post on my profile)! 

MASTERLIST

[witchygagirlwrites]

Second Chance

After a rough split is a second chance possible (tiny smidge of steamy)

You chanced a look at the clock and groaned when you saw it was a little before two. You’d been tossing and turning for hours chasing sleep that was sure to elude you yet another night. Antonio would be by in the morning with strong coffee in tow and no questions. Sometimes it benefited you with having your best friend’s brother as a partner. He’d learned not to ask once the date that was supposed to mark your wedding had passed.

Months had passed since you and Kelly split. It was hard to try to be civil with each other so on jobs where fifty one and intelligence ended up working together you’d navigate towards Casey and Gabby for any questions you needed answered and Antonio would talk to Kelly if need be.

If you were being honest with yourself you still loved him just as much as the day you’d thrown the ring at him and told him to get out of your apartment and your life. The two of you had gotten engaged before Shay died but her death combined with you burying a partner right before your transfer to intelligence had put too much of a strain on your relationship.

Both of you wrapped your pain around yourselves like armor refusing to let anyone in. You stopped talking, stopped touching and you ended up moving completely back into your place not leaving so much as a change of clothes at Kelly’s. The night that everything blew up was actually your anniversary. You’d gotten wrapped up in a case that had left bodies from Chicago to New York and ended up completely forgetting what the day was.

He showed up to the district to ask why you hadn’t answered any of his calls or texts but you hadn’t even checked your phone because for one your attention was on the case and for two he hadn’t been attentive in weeks you hadn’t thought some switch would flip to make him open back up to you. When you told him you weren’t talking about it at work he made plans to come by your place that night.

By the time you made it home you were exhausted and sore from catching a few rounds in the vest. Luckily it hadn’t went through and nothing was broke but it still hurt like hell. You had just collapsed onto the couch when Kelly used his spare key to let himself in.

You glanced up to see he looked as exhausted as you felt and started to suggest putting off talking until you both felt more like it but when he sat down on the couch next to you the dam of emotions you’d spent so long building up broke free and your mouth started moving of it’s own accord “Kelly I love you but I can’t keep doing this. We barely talk. When we do spend the night together it’s not like it used to be. I’m tired. I can only keep up one fight at a time and my job is hard enough without this resting on my head. I can’t go into a firefight and be thinking about our next argument. I want to be with you but we’ve got to meet each other halfway. I’m at fault too but something has got to change”

Kelly’s face had fallen into the hard mask like he wore before walking into a burning building. It was devoid of emotion so no one would know what was really going on in his head as he nodded and stood up “Good you saved me the words. This hasn’t worked for a while and I didn’t know how to say it” your heart had fallen to your feet. He wasn’t even willing to try to meet you halfway. He laid your key down on the coffee table and you stared at it for a few seconds feeling your tears dry on your cheeks as the warmth of anger started to sink into your veins.

You stood up and pulled the ring off your left hand “If this isn’t even worth trying to you. If years of our lives mean nothing take this damn ring and get the hell out my apartment and forget you ever knew me” you threw it at his face and spun around quickly crossing the floor and slamming the bedroom door behind you. You waited until you heard the front door slam before sliding down to the floor staring at your bed where so many nights you’d spent in Kelly’s arms.

——————–

The next time you’d seen Kelly had been weeks later one friday night at Molly’s. You were sitting with Antonio, Sylvie and Gabby when he walked in with Matt. You knew from the glare Gabby shot Matt he hadn’t told her Kelly would be there.

You turned your attention to Sylvie silently begging her to keep the conversation flowing so she started talking about a call her and Gabby had went on a few days before. You could feel Kelly’s eyes on you when he walked up with Matt so you raised your eyes slowly and weren’t surprised to see him staring at you “Hey Kelly” you said quietly and he nodded “Y/N. You look good”

You half smiled feelings tears start to form in your eyes and blinked a few times while you stared at your drink to clear them away. Here he was within arm’s reach and didn’t even seemed effected by you at least not the way you were by him. You half listened to the conversation around you, trying to think of a graceful way to run out of Molly’s and away from your ex fiance before Antonio looked between you and Sylvie “Well ladies how about I drive you both home?” You shot him a small grateful smile “Thanks Toni” you kissed Gabby on the cheek then followed Sylvie out trying to ignore the way Kelly’s eyes tracked your movement.

You were silent in Antonio’s back seat the whole way to your apartment until Sylvie turned halfway around to look at you “Are you going to be ok? I can stay if you want?” “Me too partner you know I’ve got your back” Antonio added but you shook your head “No I’m ok. I’ve got to get used to seeing him. Fire and PD works too close and we run in the same circles. I can handle it”

——————-

You were pulled out your thoughts by the phone on your nightstand dinging with a message. Who the hell was texting you at this time of night?

You reached out for it expecting it to be an alert from possibly Hank or Antonio telling you a case had come up but your heart nearly stopped when you recognized the number even if you’d deleted it out your phone to avoid the temptation of texting it once alcohol hit your system. You clicked the alert and closed your eyes against the flood of emotion after you read those three simple words “I miss you”

You took a deep breath and opened your eyes hitting the call button above his text. You had to know if he was sober, if he meant it because it was the only thought that ever rang through your head at since the last night you’d spent with him.Thoughts of that night filled your head as the phone rang.

——————–

Intelligence had been after an arsonist who only sat fires to habited buildings. There was two bodies on the ground and numerous injured with the chances of that number growing higher the long he was on the street. You and Antonio had responded to a call from one of his c.i.s and found the guy. Unfortunately he’d already lit up the building. Antonio managed to get the kill shot on him but the two of you were stuck in a building that was basically a tinder box. There was no way out.

The two of you tried to pick your way out the building but a beam fell blocking your path. You knew Hank would get there and call CFD but the question was if they could make it in enough time. You and Antonio stayed crouched low holding jacket over your faces and trying to stay calm to control your breathing enough that smoke inhalation would at least be delayed.

When your chest started getting tight and breathing was a labor you reached out and grabbed Antonio’s hand. Something to try to anchor yourself. Just when you were praying that if this was the end that you’d die before the flames reached you a loud crack was heard just to your left and you heard Kelly “FIRE DEPARTMENT CALL OUT" 

Next thing you knew Gabby was telling you to breath and you were laying on a stretcher. You pushed yourself up to a sitting position and saw Antonio sitting next to you with an oxygen mask on as well. "What the hell happened?” You asked pushing yours off despite Gabby’s objections.

“Well my best friend and my brother nearly died in a fucking fire for one!” When you saw the horror of what could have happened pass over her face you leaned back and let her put the mask back on and heard Antonio mumble “Good girl”

To appease Hank and Chief Boden you went along with the run to med. Luckily it didn’t take long to determine that while you both would be sore for a few days and have a lingering cough you were free to go home.

After Gabby dropped you off at the precinct to pick up your car you weren’t sure what came over you. Matt, Otis, Herrman, Cruz hell damn near all of fifty one had ended up checking on you except for Kelly. Maybe it was the left over adrenaline from the brush with death or maybe it was so much that hadn’t been said that lead you to drive to his apartment instead of your own.

You parked next to his mustang and made your way up to his place. It wasn’t until you were knocking that you thought about what you would actually say when he opened the door.

When he opened the door the look of relief in his eyes at seeing you stirred a completely different emotion in you. You launched yourself into his arms and crashed your lips against his in a hungry kiss that held everything you couldn’t put into words. You’d nearly died and you were pissed he hadn’t come to check on you yet being in his arms just felt right.

He pulled back after a moment clearly struggling as he met your eyes “Y/N seeing you like that” you could see the unshed tears in his eyes as he trailed off so you quieted him with another kiss “Kelly I don’t want to talk” he nodded and pulled you back to him as he backed into the apartment and shut the door behind the two of you.

Once the door was shut your back was pressed up against it with Kelly’s lips leaving a trail of open mouth kisses down your neck “Baby I..” He tried but you shook your head and pulled back far enough to pull your shirt over your head then reach for his own “No talking” you repeated before his hands went down to your lower back and he picked you up into his arms leaving you no option but to wrap your legs around his waist.

You moaned loudly when his lips found the spot on your neck he knew made you weak and he gave a sharp thrust of his hips letting you feel the way his body still reacted to yours. “Bed now” you managed to get out between gasps as his lips moved lower to nip gently at your breasts through the thin material of your bra.

He turned to head towards his bedroom never letting his lips leave your skin. When he dropped you onto the bed you met his eyes as he glanced down at your jeans asking for consent. You didn’t break eye contact as you pulled your bra off then unbuckled your jeans and started to wiggle them off your hips smiling when he reached to help you pull them off.

“Well Severide gonna do something or stare at me?” You taunted remembering the words from the very first time the two of you had slept together. The smile he gave you said he remembered as well. “Oh I’m gonna do a lot more than stare” he said before dipping his head down to your thighs leaving kisses along the left one trailing up just short of where you needed him before doing the same to the right. “Kelly please” you finally begged and that was all it took as he finally connected his mouth to your core licking a solid line up it and groaned against you when you moaned his name.

He slid one finger in curling it up inside of you barely brushing that certain spot he knew would make you come undone before sliding a second one in while his tongue worked against your swollen clit savoring every whimper and sigh he managed to pull out of you. “Kelly” you moaned tugging on his hair pleading for him to show attention to that one spot and he more than willingly obliged pumping his fingers inside of you in faster every movement hitting that spot that made you see stars. “Oh god yes. Right there Kel. Please don’t stop” you begged as he moved back up to catch your lips with his letting you taste yourself on him,fingers never slowing as he fucked into you feeling you get closer. When you finally came hips bucking up off the bed with the force of your orgasm he finally slowed his motions easing you through the high.

You reached for his shoulders and pulled him back fully on top of you and nearly growled “get your jeans off and get inside me” “I thought you said no talking” he threw back at you before pushing his jeans off to the floor and climbing back up your body leaving a trail of kisses from your hip all the way up to your collarbone finally ended with a teasingly slow kiss to your lips. Your nails dug into his shoulders as you asked “Condom?” And he was already reaching for a box out the night stand.

“Are you sure?” He asked once he was lined up with your entrance so you hooked your leg around his hip pulling him down to you and felt him chuckle as he slowly slid into you giving you time to adjust to him. Once he was bottomed out you reached up to give him an open mouthed kiss rolling your tongue against his when he finally started to move. He pulled almost all the way out before slamming back into you.

“Fuck baby. You feel so amazing. I missed this” he groaned as he fucked into you. Your nails dug into his back as you felt your second orgasm approaching “Kelly…Oh my god yes” you moaned out before the pleasure washed you under a loud moan of his name falling from your lips as you came and felt his thrusts go erratic before he gave a final hard thrust followed by small twitches of his body as he came while moaning your name.

After a second he pulled out of you and smiled when you whined lightly “Sorry baby” he apologized and left a gentle kiss on your lips before stepping out the bed to dispose of the condom. When he came back he pulled you to his chest and you let him. The familiarity of the action was too strong to ignore.

You fell asleep in that position and woke up a few hours later with his chest pressed firmly against your back. All the insecurities started raining down on you at once. He hadn’t wanted to fight for your relationship. He hadn’t come to the hospital to check on you and when you’d seen him out he hadn’t seemed that effected by the split..not to mention he still had condoms in his side table?

You managed to slip out the bed without waking him and quickly slipped your clothes on not even bothering to put your shoes on until you were in the elevator heading down out his apartment.

The next morning you’d had coffee with Gabby and told her what happened then begged for help on running interference until you could be sure you wouldn’t fall back into Kelly’s bed. You had to protect your heart from him even if it meant breaking it yourself.

——————-

Since that night you’d avoided him. He’d called and texted. Hell he even called Antonio but after Antonio told him you were ok just needed space he’d back off so why was he texting you at two in the morning?

When he finally answered the first words out his mouth were “I’m sober” as if he could read your mind. “Then why aren’t you asleep at two in the morning Kel?” You asked with a humorless laugh because why weren’t you asleep at two in the morning?

“I was thinking about the first halloween we were together. We went to that costume party then you and Shay piled up in her room to watch horror movies. I found the two of you at like four in the morning wrapped around each other because you’d managed to freak yourselves out and didn’t want to wake me and admit it” Shay had teased Kelly for a week that a few more horror movie marathons and she could steal you away.

“Yea she told everyone at fifty one she’d made me scream louder than you but it was because she’d insisted on that Austrian movie which was the scariest shit I’ve ever seen” you said with a laugh and you could almost see the smile on his face when he sighed and said “God I’ve missed hearing your laugh”

“Kelly. Why did you really call?” You asked not wanting to snap at him but not having it in you to keep up casual conversation with a man who owned so much of your heart to this day. “I finally got Gabby to tell me why you left the morning after that fire and haven’t talked to me since” he admitted and you covered your eyes with your hand trying to stow off the embarrassment you felt.

“I know it was just sex to you Kelly…” You were cut off at that point by him calling your name almost harshly. You were stunned for a moment before he repeated gently this time “Y/N baby please just listen to what I have to say then if you want to never speak to me again so be it” you nodded then realized he couldn’t see you so you said “Go ahead”

“So much has gone wrong between us. Shay and Michelson dying so close together. Both of us refusing to break, to let each other in. If I could go back and change it I would. She’d kick my ass if she knew I let you slip through my fingers. That day when we busted that wall down and found you and Antonio… I couldn’t think straight. I got into a fight with Matt and Boden sent me home. I had tried for hours to think of what to say to you so I could call then you ended up at my door.”

He hesitated for a moment and you weren’t sure if you should say anything so you remained quiet until he continued “There has never been a single time between us that was just sex. I love you Y/N. I still want to somehow get back to the point of being able to spend the rest of my life with you. That night I honestly thought either it would be a chance for us to start over but then I woke up and you were gone. I begged Gabby and Antonio both to tell me what I’d done but the Dawsons are both firmly in your corner but tonight I guessed Gabby just finally lit that fuse of hers and decided to tear into me”

This time you finally spoke to ask “What do you mean?” Thinking over what all you’d said to Gabby since that night. He chuckled before saying “oh like how the break up didn’t effect me. How I would look at you like we’d never been in love. How I didn’t come to the hospital when you were being checked out. How there was still condoms in my nightstand so I had to be sleeping around" 

"Oh” you breathed and heard him scoff “Yea oh. Y/N honestly all my cards on the table because I don’t have a damn thing left to lose. Every time I saw you and weren’t able to touch you or kiss you was like a knife to the gut. When I’d see you working a scene and you’d head straight for anyone who wasn’t me..baby you could’ve shot me and it would have hurt less. I had to force myself to be cold to keep from breaking down. While we’re on the subject those condoms are the last box I bought when we were together. Where you scribbled only for Y/N and Kelly’s use is still on the box. I haven’t so much as looked at another woman and I’d give anything to get a second chance at us”

Your head was spinning as you tried to process what all he’d just said. You vaguely registered him calling your name more than once before you finally said “I’m here” he made a noise in response then said “I’ll let you go” “No Kel wait” you said hurriedly and heard him make a questioning noise so you decided to lay your cards on the table as well “I still love you too Kelly. I don’t want anyone else. It will take time but I want to try us again too. Can you come over? I just want you to hold me then come morning we can talk more” you could hear the smile in his voice when he said “give me ten minutes top and I’ll be at your door”

[jaysevhls]

Here, With You | Kelly Severide

Summary: You're a firefighter at Firehouse 51. You are a member of Truck 81. At the call you got injured with Kelly, your fiance.

Pairing: Kelly Severide x Reader.

Warnings: Injures, accident.

Author's note: It's pretty long one?? Requests are open.

Firehouse 51. The most loving, caring and knowing firehouse in Chicago you can say. Working here was the best part of your life, including your relationship with lieutenant Kelly. Those years you have been working there were just amazing as you can tell.

Day started as usual, no calls, most of the squad and truck, hanging out in the break room. The atmosphere was clear, fortunately there were no dramas that day.

You made your walk through the kitches, it was your day at cooking, which you loved. Everyone in 51 knew your hobby and passion, that's why Herrmann decided to give you a part time job at Molly's. There was something about this place, the whole idea, people CPD, CFD and Med were there almost every night, trying their favorite drinks, your food and just spending time with colleagues, closest friends and loves.

That's where you and Kelly made a step in your friendship. You met 7 years ago, when you started working at 51 as paramedic. It was only a temporary, since you knew that your dream job is being a firefighter. Your childhood was mostly based on making a fake fire, smoke, because you loved when you could help your mom or any member from your family when it was a fire in the house, not real of course. And the day came. After 1 year being in Ambo 61 with your best friend, Gabby, it was your time to shine. You joined the academy with her, which only made things better for you and your friendship. You graduated and since then, you're an official member of Truck 81. You loved your job.

Kelly was always around you. Since he and Gabby lost Leslie, he felt like he need to make a promise. He promised himself that no matter what, he will always protect you. Since he first saw you, the look in your eyes wes telling him that you need someone by your side. And that's when it all started. At the beginning it was simple. He cared about you a lot, he always asked you after a call if everything is alright, if you need anything, which made you feel loved. You missed that feeling.

One night at Molly's things went too far you can say. It was a day before your birthday, so you wanted to have fun. A lot of fun. You invited all your colleagues and of course Kelly. For couple of days at this time he was so nervous, acting weird around you, so you thought he need some relax and fun. It was a good time occasion.

"Hey, you want another?" Herrmann asked you. To be honest, it was a very difficult job to make you drunk, so you ordered next one. And next. And couple more.

"I think you had enough Y/N" Kelly took the beer from your hand, laughing at your actions.

"No, no, no Kelly. Definitely no. You need to have more, you need to have fun, pleaseeee! It's like the first time in year when we actually can drink more, because there's no work tomorrow" you took it back and drink almost half of it.

"Ok. But you're not getting drunk here alone. Let's go to my place, I have your favorite wine and beer." as he finished, you were already in his arms. His hand on your waist, making your way through the exit. You really wanted to go there by your own, but it was too much.

"See, I could go alone Kelly. You don't need to check on me when we're not in work." you smirked.

"That's the point my love. I'll care about you till the end of world and one day after." you look at him confused. Did he just called you his love? Or was it just your imagination witch damage after too many beers.

"And who had too much alcohol tonight Kelly?" he didn't respond.

The ride was wild you can say. He decided to take a longer way, because he wanted you to feel a little bit better, to wipe that alcohol out of your system. You sang your favorite songs, which made him laugh. He loved your voice, even drunk.

That night was memorable. He kissed you out of the blow, but you enjoyed it. You wanted that for so long. The priority was to remember about that night, even half of it and you did it. Couple of more nights like this, dates, drinks at Molly's.

And there you are. Engaged to your best friend. Your soulmate, a better half.

"Y/N? Can we speak in private?" he asked. You just finished cooking when you saw Kelly, walking to you with something in his hand.

"What have I done this time?" you laughed, joining him in his office.

"Why didn't you tell me about the meeting with my father? Are you out of your mind?" so that was the problem. You looked at him and sighed.

"I didn't mean to- I wanted to tell you, but it was already too late. He asked me to meet him few days ago and I thought that will be the best opportunity to invite him to our wedding. It's your dad Kelly"

"And why now he is trying to reach me by the mails, calls and even letters? I told you that I'll speak to him in right time!" that conversation went definitely too far you felt.

"Enough Kelly! I just wanted to do something good, to invite your damn father to see his son at the end of the aisle, because it's a one time thing and you're making me feel guilty about this? You know I didn't mean to hurt you, but you-"

"Truck 81, Engine 51, Squad 3, Ambo 61, Battalion 25 the old-" you didn't need to listen the rest. You went out of his office and made your way to the Truck.

After few minutes, all of the members of 51 were on the scene. It was a big fire at the old factory.

"Y/L/N, Borrelli, with me" Casey yelled. You masked up before you went in. You know that it was to difficult to handle that fire with only one firehouse, so when you heard Boden voice, calling for backup, you sighed in relief. Now, the only thing you needed to focus at, was to get as many people as you can and walk them out of this place.

You took 2 womens with you, it wasn't that bad you thought. When you came back, the smoke was dark and you couldn't see anything. You made few steps in the right.

"Fire department, call out!" you yelled. Casey was right behind you, saying that he's going to the left. Before, you heard few screams, that's why you decided to go back in there and find those people. They still could be alive.

"H-help!" you heard. You made your way to a women, who was trapped. She had a really bad head injury. You knew it was her final call.

"Hey, you're gonna be okay. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere!" you told her and kneeled in front of her. You took her hand and she looked at you. Then she closed her eyes.

Checking her pulse, you felt a sharp pain at your shoulder. You hit yourself when you were standing up.

Your vision get blurred more than it already was. You took your mask off to see if there's anyone else, or Casey, to reach his help. It was your biggest mistake. Unfortunately, your mask fell out of your hands and broke.

"Mayday, Mayday! I need some help in block C! My mask is destroyed, I'm out of my oxygen." you coughed.

Kelly was already outside, looking out for you. When he heard your voice, his heart just broke.

"Chief, I'll go!" he yelled. He didn't even wait for a response, he just stormed out to that building.

He was looking out for you for almost 3 minutes, which was a long way, when you are dealing with fire, smoke and no oxygen. When he found you, he thought it was too late. You were laying, coughing, in pretty bad shape.

"Hey! Y/N! Come on, we need to get out of here!"

"I- I can't Kelly, I- My leg, is trapped." he looked down at your body, searching for an injuries. You were right, your leg was trapped and he knew that he'll need more help.

"Breath baby, just keep breathing, everything is going to be alright" he kneeled at your side and gave you his mask.

"What a funny story" you coughed. "I just said those words to a woman and she died" you cried. The pain was awful, you felt this sharp pain at your shoulder, your chest was getting heavier and the leg wasn't helping. The only thing what was keeping you alive was the water, streaming on your side.

"You're not dying, you hear me? Don't you dare die on me" he was trying to pull you out, but when he realised that he can't do it, he immediately called for backup.

"What is that?" you asked. Something was making noises and you couldn't focus on what is causing it.

"Oh god no. No, no, no! My oxygen is out, shit!" he yelled. "Chief, where is the backup, my oxygen is out, we don't have much time!"

"Kelly, hey, look at me." you whispered. He was so scared, like never.

"We're gonna be fine, just please breath" he cried. You took his hand and kissed it. He lied down, to get closer to water. Now, you were face to face.

"I love you Kelly. They were right about "Till the death do us apart", they were so right"

"Shut up Y/N, we didn't even get a chance to say those words yet." he nervously laughed. "You're gonna be fine and you'll say it to me in the church, in this beautiful white dress, you hear me? They're coming and they'll find us."

You were out of you breath, laying there unconscious, Kelly was holding your hand with eyes closed.

"Y/N? Hey, Y/N?" he immediately stood up and check out your pulse. There was no pulse. "No, no, no, c'mon Y/N, you can't leave me!" he was yelling.

"Y/L/N! Severide! Call out!" it was Casey. They found you.

"In here, we need get her out of here, she's not breathing" Casey took you by your legs and Severide by hands. They were almost running with you in their arms. Brett and Dawson were ready to take you from them.

"Start compressions." Gabby said. He felt like his whole world was falling apart. Casey was holding him by his arm, to make sure he won't fall. "Okay, we got the pulse, we're going to Med. Severide?" Brett asked.

"Yeah, I'm going with you." he wiped off his face from tears. You needed to be alright.

•

It's been almost 5 hours since they brought you to Med. Whole 51 was sitting in waiting room with Kelly to help him get through this time and to get news about you.

"Any family member of Y/N Y/L/N?" the nurse asked.

"I'm her fiance" he answered.

"Doctor Will Halstead is waiting for you" he followed her into break room. He was so scared to hear news about you.

"Hey, Kelly. I'm so sorry about what happened, are you okay?" he hugged him.

"Hey, yeah. I'm good. They give ne oxygen, took my blood for some tests, everything is good, my lungs are clear. How's Y/N, please tell me she's okay?"

"She's stable. She had a surgery for her open break in the leg, but everything is okay now. We're giving her oxygen and for now, we're keeping her in coma."

"But- but she wasn't breathing for couple of minutes, is there any chance that it caused something?"

"It's hard to say Kelly. We need to wait till she wakes up" he gave him a weak smile. "You can go and see her, I'll tell your team about her condition."

There you were. Laying in bed, unconscious, but alive. You were so strong, Kelly knew that. You showed him this so many times, but today it was something different. He almost lost you and it almost killed him.

"I'm so sorry Y/N. This shouldn't have happened to you. I love you baby and I'll always be by your side." he cried in his hands.

"I know you will" this whispered make his heart stop.

"You're awake, baby. I love you so much, this argument shouldn't have happened, it's all my fault"

"Shhh, can you? Can you just lay here with me? he stood up and layed by her side. Just the two of them, reunited. Full of love.

[samantha-chicago]

Back In Town Pt. 1

Summary: You come back home after a 24 month long deployment and see Jay Halstead and Greg Gerwitz your best friends but you also see your ex who you never thought you would see again.

Pairing:  Reader x Adam Ruzek, Kelly Severide, Jay Halstead, Greg ‘Mouse’ Gerwitz, Intelligence 

Warning/s: Mentions of guns, cheating

You walked into Molly's a local bar that had opened up while you were overseas in Afghanistan. You grew up in Canaryville alongside Adam Ruzek who you dated for many years until you found out he had cheated while you were in Iran for the first time. After 5 years together you had to call it quits. You sat down at the bar ignoring that you were in your uniform, spending your first few hours back in Chicago in a bar.

"You're new about here what can I get you?" An older guy asked as you placed your hat on the bar

"Whiskey on rocks please" You answered with a small smile. You ran your hand over the last name embroidered on to the hat "Y/L/N" it read. If you had asked yourself 3 years ago what name would have been on that hat you would have replied "Y/L/N-Ruzek". You wanted to keep your last name cause you were the only girl left on your side of the family. The man handed you a Whiskey on rocks

"Y/L/N When did you get back in?" You turned around to see Jay Halstead leaning on the bar next to you. You, Jay and Greg Gerwitz aka Mouse all severed together a good few years back but they left the army and you redeployed for a few years

"Like an hour ago although I'm back at my parents house" You scrunched your face up thinking about that

"Ditch your bags and run?" You let out a small laugh

"My bags are in my sister's car so in a way yeah"

"I've got someone you might want to see follow me" Jay grabbed your drink while you grabbed your hat placing it back on your head. To be honest you didn't need to but it was a habit that would be hard to forget

"So what you going to do now you're back?" Jay asked making small talk

"Well I'm not sure. I can be a cop, firefighter, paramedic or doctor"

"You'll decide soon enough" You nodded taking your drink from Jay and taking a sip of it

"Real alcohol tastes good" You said smiling something which was a rare sight. You were tough when you were kidnapped people found it so hard to break you they would normally just give up. You reached a table and saw 2 familiar faces. One you missed dearly and another you never wanted to see again. Greg Gerwitz and Adam Ruzek you silently prayed that Adam didn't recognise you.

"Am I dreaming or is Y/N Y/L/N standing in front of me?" Mouse asked getting up and hugging you.

"It must be a better dream than mines are" You joked hugging Mouse back being careful not to spill your drink

"What are you doing back in Chicago? When did you get in? Where are you staying? How was your parents divorce?" Mouse threw off questions and you let out a small laugh. It was amazing how easy Mouse and Jay could make you laugh even through the hard times

"Well my tour finished, I got back in an hour ago, I'm staying with my mom and my mom got everything in the divorce for obvious reasons"

"I mean how the hell did he kill someone he's harmless he wouldn't even kill a spider"

"Yeah I know" You ignored the fact Adam was staring at you as both Mouse and Jay threw their arms over your shoulders.

"We'll be back guys" Jay said as Jay and Mouse started leading you somewhere.

"Where are we going?" You asked

"Just shut up Y/L/N" Jay said and you slapped him around the head. Back at the intelligence table everyone had noticed Adam staring at you. 

“I’m gonna say this for Ruzek here. She’s hot” Kevin said as Kim slapped him. 

“The one that got away” Adam muttered loud enough for people to hear but not understand him 

“What was that?” Hailey asked and he shrugged dowing the last of his beer. Back over to where Jay and Mouse were dragging you they pushed you down onto a chair 

“Mouse watch her” Jay instructed as you finished the last of your drink 

“So what was that with Ruzek back there?” Mouse asked and you shrugged 

“Who’s Ruzek?” You questioned playing dumb 

“Oh come on Y/L/N don’t act dumb you avoided his eyes but no one else's” You sighed standing up 

“Look Mouse I’m just gonna head home” He lifted the corner of your shirt up to expose the tattoo on your hip 

“A.R means Adam Ruzek he’s the one who cheated isn’t he?” You nodded slowly 

“I don’t think about him when I look at the tattoo I think about my favorite gun” Mouse laughed slightly 

“ArmaLite Rifle” You nodded 

“Exactly” Jay walked back over with his brother Will Halstead who you wrapped in a hug. When you got back after your 3rd tour you were injured and wouldn’t let a doctor look at you until Jay convinced you to let Will look at you.  

“Y/N it’s good to see you back in the 3 musketeers these 2 were getting a bit boring without you” Jay slapped his brother as you let out a small laugh “I better get back before I lose my head but it was good seeing you Y/N” You bid Will your goodbyes as Jay dragged you over to the bar 

“Herrmann 3 whiskey on rocks, 3 shots” You looked at Jay with wide eyes

“I came here to have 1 drink not get drunk” 

“Oh well enjoy it” He said wrapping his arms around your shoulder. The older man who you had just learned was called Herrmann handed you three shots. You, Jay and Mouse grabbed one 

“To Y/L/N being back in Chicago” You all downed the shots as some guy caught your eye 

“Who’s that?” You asked nudging your head towards the guy laughing with his friends at the bar

“Kelly Severide, Chicago’s womaniser I wouldn’t get involved with him” 

“What happens if I just want a one night stand?” 

“Then Mouse is there” He said pulling the hat off your head and handing it to the bartender telling him you’ll collect it at the end of the night. Him and Mouse dragged you back to the table they were sitting at before

“Halstead who’s this?” A blonde asked 

“Yeah Jay who’s this” You heard Will from behind you causing you to turn around and slap him upside the head 

“Don’t you have somewhere better to be William?” 

“Y/N/N one of these days you will love me” You let out a small laugh 

“In your dreams” You joked

“Ok Y/N, Will stop fighting. Guys this is Y/N Y/L/N she was in the rangers with us. Y/N this is the intelligence unit. We have Kim Burgess, Kevin Atwater, Adam Ruzek, Antonio Dawson and Erin Lindsay” You smiled 

“Hey it was great meeting you all but I’m gonna go” You saw Mouse slyly point to your hip which caused you to nod slowly

“Go hook up with Severide he’s not as bad as Jay made him out to be” Mouse whispered in your ear as you hugged him goodbye. You walked over and leaned against the bar. 

“You hear to get another drink or your hat?” The latina woman asked 

“Just my hat please” 

“I’m Gabby Dawson” She introduced herself 

“Y/L/N, Y/N Y/L/N sorry the last name first is a bit of a bit” You explained motioning to your uniform

“Hey don’t worry about it give me a minute. Severide what can I get you?” Gabby asked Kelly Severide the guy who caught my eye earlier. You zoned out looking around the rustic bar for the first time. Paying real attention to all the details, the markings on the wood, the fairy lights on the ceilings and how everyone seemed to know each other. 

“Hey you new about here?” Kelly Severide asked sitting on the stool next to were you were standing 

“Not exactly I grew up in Canaryville but I’m just back from deployment” You stated with a smile 

“Kelly Severide” He introduced himself with a smile that was hard to resist

“Y/N Y/L/N”

“I’m about to get out of here if you want a lift” He offered 

“Are you sure? I don’t mind calling an uber I have great self-defence skills” You joked 

“No come on”

“Hold on how do I know you aren’t about to kidnap me?” You questioned with a smile 

“I saw you with Halstead and to be honest I don’t want to be on the bad side of his boss anyway I’m a lieutenant with the CFD” You let out a small hum 

“You don’t by any chance have any job openings? You asked as you followed him out to his car 

“I would have to ask Chief if I could have someone else on Squad. Why?” 

“I’ve been deployed for the last 24 months and I need a job. I’ve got training to be a doctor, paramedic, firefighter or police officer I was really undecided after each tour” You stated as he held the door open for you. You climbed into his passenger side

“You’ve got loads of choice but I’ll speak to chief tomorrow anyway where am I taking you?” You glanced at the time 

“Erm shit I didn’t think that far ahead. Just take me to a hotel nearby I can’t be bothered with my mom being like ‘oh your home’ or ‘at least you’re better than your father’ or something along those lines” 

“Are you sure I have a spare bedroom and some clothes you can use” 

“Are you sure I don’t want to intrude I mean you’re already driving me”

“I’m sure I’m taking you to mine” 

“Thank you” You said with a smile 

“Don’t worry about it I don’t have anyone at home” 

“Yeah I heard you’re Chicago’s womaniser” You smirked 

“Been asking about me?” You shrugged 

“Don’t say you didn’t ask about me” 

“Ok you caught me there but no one knew who you were” Your phone started ringing so you answered it 

“Y/L/N” You answered calmly the worst going through your head 

“Hey Mouse gave me your number” Adam’s voice came through the phone 

“So you deleted my number” 

“Did you delete mine?” 

“What do you want and why couldn’t this have been a text?” You snapped 

“Look Y/N I’m sorry I made a giant mistake all those years ago but you can see I’m somewhere better” 

“Why am I supposed to believe you just cause your now a cop doesn’t mean I trust you” You hung up and lay your head back on the headrest 

“I don’t want to impose but are you ok that sounded heated” 

“My ex he cheated on me on my first deployment we were together 5 years” You said keeping it simple. You arrived at Kelly’s and he lead you into his appartment and he showed you to the guest bedroom before giving you one of his shirts and a pair of joggers. You told him you would join him after getting changed which is what you did. You were now sitting on the couch with him watching the replays of the hockey game that was on the previous night. You kept stealing glances at him and you caught him doing the same thing a few times. ‘What harm is it going to do?’ ‘One night no strings attached’ ‘He could be your boss’ All these thoughts were going through your head but you fought them off and kissed him. Much to your surprise he kissed back. Tongues and lips moving in sync until you were both struggling for air which was when yous pulled back 

“I shouldn’t have done th-” You started off but he cut you off kissing you again. He picked you up in one swift movement wrapping your legs around his waist as he carried you through to his bedroom. You kicked the door shut behind you before he lay you down on the bed. 

“Are you sure you want to continue?” He asked voice low as you nodded 

“Definitely” You and Kelly spent the night together doing stuff you never thought you would do any time soon but it was fun. He had shift the next morning so you didn’t go for to long but it was still fun.

[anotheronechicagobog]

Fire Meets Fate - Brettsey - Chapter 1 - Violet Opens Her Big Mouth

warnings: swearing, mature themes, character death (Andy Darden), canon compliant tragedy

Summary: Violet Casey, Matt's favourite (and only) niece points out what Matt had been so blind to; Gabby Dawson has the hots for him. While he is engaged. While Matt is most definitely... Shocked at this news, he is in no way pleased. As a result, they never get together.

“I don’t like Gabby.”

“What? Why not, you’re always talking about how much you like her food.”

“Yeah, her food’s amazing- she isn’t.”

“Violet, why would you think that?”

“And that is why I’m bringing it up, you, uncle lieutenant, are oblivious. Gabby has the hots for you.”

“She does not.”

“Yes, she does! Ask anyone, ask uncle Kelly, ask Hallie, ask Gabby.”

“We’re friends and friends alone, Gabby does not love me.”

“I didn’t say ‘love’, I said that she has the hots for you, which is totally different. If she loved you she wouldn’t flirt with you every chance she got, including whenever you and Hallie are on a break.”

“She doesn’t-”

“Flirt with you? Yes, she does. She also makes puppy dog eyes at you and bites her lip whenever you’re not looking. Look, I’m not telling you that she’s not nice, or that you shouldn’t be friends with her, it’s just that I’ve noticed she likes you more than she should, and that sometimes her ‘friendship’ has an ulterior motive.”

“Violet-”

“Just keep it in mind, okay uncle Matt?”

And he did.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You know how when you start learning to drive, and all the bad driving habits people had, like rolling stops, were pointed out to you? And how once the blinders were ripped off, you couldn’t unsee anything? Well finding out Gabby ‘has the hots’ for him had the same effect. Suddenly he couldn’t hold eye contact with her because he saw longing and lust beneath them, he heard the lengthy pauses and felt the weight of her gaze when anyone asked her about her love life, and whenever she spoke to him he noticed hidden and double meanings in her words. Honestly, it made him a little uncomfortable. And his niece was right, he was completely oblivious! So. Damn. Oblivious. But at first he thought that he was just seeing things, I mean, Violet was fourteen what did she know about non-platonic relationships. Wait... What did she know about non-platonic relationships?! She’s only fourteen! Casey’s horror-filled internal realizations were interrupted by Severide. The man who was once one of his best friends now seemed more like a mortal enemy. Picking fights. Doubting his decision. Second-guessing his judgment. Snide comments. Matt had truly forgotten just how sharp Kelly’s tongue was until they weren’t on the same side anymore. “What did you and Heather talk about at the barbeque?”

“Just about Andy and Griffin. Whenever someone asks, she says they’re holding up as well as can be expected, but I think there’s more going on that she’s not seeing yet because she’s still grieving too.”

“Well, maybe if Heather actually brought the boys around here, or me. There wouldn’t be an issue.”

“Okay, you know what? I’m done. I have tried to talk to Heather about bringing the boys here, about letting them see you, you think I haven’t? But she’s hurting and she blames you. I’ve tried talking her down, and I know that Andy’s death isn’t either of our faults, but I can’t control someone else’s emotions. So stop baring your teeth at me over it. I have tried, and failed, and I am tired, okay? I lost my two best friends in one day! And one of them is actually here, and alive, and safe but growls at me every time I walk near him!”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a blue tank top, jeans, and wedges, Gabby approached Matt in the locker room. “My brother called me...” Of course he did. If Matt had felt like he had any other trustworthy officers to turn to, he wouldn’t have asked Gabby to contact her brother. Nothing stays secret between those two. And this was something that only added to the feeling of centipedes marching up and down his spine. He didn’t want her to know about his private life before he did, he didn’t want her in the loop. He normally had no issue with criticism so long as it was based in merit and not bias. And lately he couldn’t help but feel that Violet was right about Gabby and ulterior motives.

“... You holding up alright?”

“Yeah, yeah. Good.” With a quick nod to her, he left. No long looks, no asking her what she would have done, no ‘honest answers’, no soulful eyes or parted lips, he didn’t want anymore personal, intimate, talks between them anymore. She may just be a friend to him, but he wasn’t just a friend to her, and he didn’t know how to handle that situation just yet. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matt walked towards the kitchen, ready to get some breakfast and coffee after all the paperwork he had to do before eight in the morning. He winced internally when he saw Gabby crossing the room with arms full of Halloween candy packages. Even just looking at her now set him on edge. He didn’t have confirmation about Violet was right, but as time went on, her actions and her words and her body language, both past and present, were glaring confirmations. He did his best to blend into the background, fade into the noise of the firehouse, and it worked. Mills was getting more and more frustrated that they only had salt and pepper for spices, but then Gabby, still on the counter from putting the candy up high, laid her hand on his shoulder, and told him where she kept the spices she uses when she cooks. “... I used up the rest of the saffron the last time I cooked.” While Gabby didn’t look back at Mills as she walked away, burning a hole inside of Matt’s head instead, the candidate’s eyes followed her form as she walked away, amazement on playing on his features. Matt smiled, maybe her love of cooking would bring her and Mills together.

And then the bells went off.

Once on the scene, Casey was brought back to a phone call he had early in the morning with Luke Hermann.

FLASHBACK

“Hello?”

“Uncle Matt, it’s Luke.”

“Hey, Luke, is everything alright?”

“No. I mean yeah, at home, I mean dad did walk in on grandpa in the bathroom again, but things here are good, but no...”

“Luke what’s going on? Talk to me.”

“I don’t want my dad to die.”

“Oh, Luke... Hey, bud, it’s okay, don’t cry.”

“But he almost died, and so did you! When uncle Andy died it seemed so far away, like it couldn’t happen to my dad, but then...”

“Hey, I know. Everyone at the firehouse, we love your dad. And you. We’re all looking out for him and watching his back, okay? We always do everything we can to make sure he goes home to you.”

“But that’s not enough sometimes, is it?”

“Luke, your dad loves you more than anything, he will always do whatever it takes to make it through a shift and back home to the people he loves more than anything else in the world. And his in-laws.” The uncontrollable sounds coming from the boy had changed from crying to laughing, and Matt couldn’t help but crack a smile amongst his own misty eyes. Hermann really didn’t get along with his in-laws, did he?

FLASHBACK OVER

The call ended up being a small kitchen fire, minimal damage, no one was injured, but Casey remained in a sour mood. He couldn’t promise the safety of his colleagues in their line of work, and that was pissing him off more than usual today.

“Alright, everyone, today our own Jose Vargas transfers over from truck to squad.”

Casey and Severide were at odds, but that didn’t mean the rest of the house had to be, and it really was a tragedy that tensions spilled over quite a bit. So Matt made sure that he looked as genuine as he felt while shaking his brother in arms’ hand, “best of luck.”

“Thanks, lieutenant.” He still felt a bit like he was losing one to the enemy, so he retreated to his office. Which turned out to be a pretty bad move, considering all he could do was think about Voight. If he was being honest, Matt was afraid of what he’d gotten himself into. He knew it was the right thing, he just wondered if he’d make it out the other side unscathed. His mind kept wandering to those action movies about stopping dirty cops. Kidnapping, torture, death. He couldn’t help but wonder if that was Voight’s style.

“Hey.” And then suddenly Hallie was there, in a red sweater and black leggings. “Hey yourself, what are you doing here?”

“I just thought I’d come by for a visit, are you okay? You’ve been drifting off a lot lately.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

“Well, I have to admit, there’s another reason I stopped by. To see if you were up for something that we talked about but never got around to doing?” Playfully lust eyes met his as she shut the blinds on his door. And like magic, Matt’s day got a whole lot better.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Closed doors didn’t always have connotations, but in the firehouse they did. Everything was based on context, sometimes it meant that whoever was on the other side was sleeping in their office. Sometimes it was paperwork, or alone time, or some not-so-alone time with a special someone. Or like now, where the chief ushered in a police captain, detective, and then requested his presence. Everyone was well aware by now of his debacle with Voight, so they stayed clear. Casey was seething. The ‘captain’ basically came all this way to tell them that IA was conducting a BS investigation and that despite the fact that he was Voight’s superior, he couldn’t do anything. And then Antonio spoke up. Volunteered. Matt looked him in the eye, and while he could tell the man was honourable and that he’d do everything he could, Matt couldn’t help but wonder if it had anything to do with Gabby.

“Thank you, detective Dawson.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Guys who assaulted you have a record. Guaranteed.” Matt was sore, but not sore enough to miss a shift, and certainly not sore enough to look at binders filled with the photos of known offenders with Antonio. Gabby entered to grab her stuff just as Matt got past the first page. Until  Matt’s rang with Hallie checking in he used that as an excuse to pretend she wasn’t even in the room. “Hey, just looking at photographs, tattoos.” 

“You never know.” Hallie was being the optimist for once, and Matt couldn’t be more grateful for it.

“That’s right.”

“I love you.” 

“I love you too.” Even before he responded to Hallie Matt could practically feel Gabby’s sadness. It was palpable. He could actually feel the realization shift in Antonio Dawson. So when Matt hung up the phone, he didn’t look at either of them. He pretended that he didn’t see their facial expressions out of the corner of his eye, that he didn’t sense the longing in Gabby’s delayed departure from the briefing room, that he didn’t feel the weight in Antonio start to shift as he leaned on the table to watch Matt look through the binder. And then the bells went off.

[like-a-bag-of-potatoes]

Playing With Fire - Brotherly Advice

A/N: So this is my first crack at Chicago fire fanfiction, so don't judge too hard, alright? This will unfold from the beginning of season three, so if you haven't watched it yet, but plan to; SPOILER ALERT! I tried to follow along with the storyline of the show, but some things have been changed. Shout out to my superawesome beta @thorne93​, you rock! 

Fandom: Chicago Fire

Pairing: Kelly Severide x Beth (OFC) 

Warnings: Implied sexytimes. Language probably. 

Wordcount: 3001

Breakfast was long forgotten as Beth and Kelly were tangled up between her sheets, exploring each other’s bodies as they both chased a release. 

As Beth was catching her breath, she looked over at him, taking in his profile. He was gorgeous, that was pretty obvious, but underneath all that there was a genuinely good heart too. How did she know that? First of all it was from how others spoke of him, and secondly, she could feel it when she looked into those bright blue eyes of his. She knew she was treading on thin ice here, but that was an issue for another time. Right now she just wanted to enjoy this time with him. 

“It's rude to stare, you know,” he suddenly said, eyes trained on the ceiling as a smile crept to his plump lips. 

She knew it was futile to try and lie her way out of that one. “I think I'm gonna cancel dinner with my brother and help out at Molly’s instead,” she said thoughtfully.  

The day before, there had been a pretty serious accident where a truck from another company had rammed into truck 81. Everyone at 81 was whole, but the driver of the other truck was in pretty bad shape. Herrmann had volunteered up Molly’s to host a fundraiser for the injured firefighter, Molina, and his family. 

“You sure?” Kelly asked, lazily running his fingers up and down her arm. 

“Yeah. This is more important,” she assured. “Besides, I'm like 90 percent sure he only wants to meet up because mom ordered him to check up on me.” 

“You could invite him to Molly’s for a drink instead,” he suggested. 

It was a nice thought on his account, but for Beth that really wasn't an option. “Maybe,” she said absentmindedly.

“So this is your oldest brother?” Kelly could feel her nodding her head. “And how many do you have?” 

“Six,” she stated simply. 

“You have six siblings?” he asked, his brows shooting up. 

“Yup. Six older brothers,” she confirmed. “Told you I had a big family.”

“Wow… wish I knew that before I took you home the other night,” he joked. 

She playfully shoved his shoulder before sitting up. “Story of my life,” she joked. Beth leaned over and grabbed Kelly’s shirt from the floor, pulling it over her head. 

He laid back on the bed, arms behind his head as he watched her. “So what do they do, these brothers of yours?” 

“They’re cops,” she said simply. 

“All of them?” Now it was his turn to sit up on the bed. 

“Yeah. Except Brad, who’s a lawyer.” 

“So you have five older brothers who are cops?” 

Beth chuckled. This was normally the reaction she got when she told people about her family. The only thing that was a little unusual was that Kelly wasn't sprinting for the door already. “One in homicide, one in organised crime, one in vice, and two still in uniform,” she summarised. “They’re harmless though,” she added. 

Kelly pulled on his boxers before he followed Beth into the kitchen to dig into the breakfast she had made for them. As she loaded up their plates with eggs, bacon, and pancakes, he poured them each a generous cup of coffee. They placed everything on the table and Kelly sat down.  

She was on her way to take a seat as well when Kelly grabbed her and pulled her into his lap, making her squeal before a laugh took over. “What are you doing?” she asked, falling serious again as she looked into his eyes. 

A large hand cupped her cheek, his calloused fingers rough against her velvet skin. He coaxed her gently to lean down so he could kiss her lips again. “Can't help it,” he said with a cheeky grin. “You look way too hot in my shirt.” 

Beth gave him another quick kiss, humming into his lips as she moved her hands up his sculpted chest. “You look really hot without your shirt, too,” she countered before getting back to her feet. 

Kelly watched her intently as she rounded the table and took a seat, that smile still on his lips.

Breakfast was followed by a long, steamy shower. It was truly a great morning, but as they had both dried up and were clothed again a sort of weird tension hung over them. It wasn't really bad or awkward in any way. It just felt more like a ‘now what?’ moment. Like ‘we just had a lot of amazing sex and now we don't have anything to talk about’ kinda deal.  

They both looked at each other for a moment and then Beth laughed a little nervously. “Did things just get weird?” she wondered, looking up at Kelly who mirrored her laugh. 

“A little bit, yeah,” he agreed, bobbing his head slightly. 

She took a few steps forward to close the space between them and then wrapped her arms around his waist. “It's been a really good morning, though,” she said with a coy smile on her lips. 

Kelly hummed in agreement before he dipped his head down and kissed her. “I wish I could stay and do more of this-” he gave her another quick kiss -”but I have some things I need to get done today,” he said. 

“That's alright. We can pick this back up another time,” she said with a smile. “If you want to that is,” she added hastily, not wanting him to think she was presuming anything. 

Kelly chuckled at how nervous she got. “I'd like that very much,” he assured, emphasizing his statement with another kiss. “I'll see you at Molly’s later?” he wondered, not really wanting to let go of her just yet. 

“Absolutely,” she smiled. 

**

After Kelly had left that morning, she hadn't been able to focus on anything other than replaying the memories of their time together, and now she was back at work, serving drinks for everyone that had come to show support for Molina and his family. The mood was surprisingly alright considering. 

“How’s Cruz doing?” Beth asked Gabby when they found a moment to talk. Cruz had been the one driving truck 51, and was now accused of running a light and causing the accident that left Molina fighting for his life. 

“As good as can be expected,” Gabby said. “I do have some other news though,” she said to Beth, Otis, and Herrmann. “Casey and I broke up.” Beth was confused by the smile on both Gabby and Matt’s faces. 

Otis and Herrmann looked confused for a second too, until Gabby spoke again. 

“Good thing is, now I can fill the candidate slot at truck 81. If you'll have me?” 

There were pretty strict rules when it came to personal relationships on the job, but now it seemed as though Matt and Gabby had found a way to work around that. All they had to do was postpone their wedding for a year, until Gabby had completed her candidacy. 

“Congratulations,” Beth said with a big smile as she hugged her friend. 

The conversation stopped there as a tall, dark haired man with a thick beard interrupted them. “Beth?” 

She looked up at him and her smile faltered. “Brad? What the hell?” 

“Nice to see you too, sis,” he said, not offering up a smile.  

Beth looked at her watch. He should be about ready for take off now, so why the hell was he here? She watched as he introduced himself to Gabby, Herrmann, Otis, and Matt, before her eyes found Kelly at a table far from the bar. The last thing she wanted right now was for them to meet. She looked up at her brother and nodded towards the end of the bar to get him to follow her. 

“Why are you here?” she asked. It came out a little ruder than she had planned. “I thought you’d be on a plane back to New York by now.” She tried to ignore the curious eyes that were on them. 

“I moved my flight to tomorrow,” he stated simply. “Look… we didn't leave things on the best terms, and I wanted to make up for that,” he said in a serious tone. 

“Alright…” she dragged, not really sure what to do with that. “I appreciate the gesture, but I'm working, and I don't really have the time to get into this with you right now.” 

Brad was a big man, over six feet tall, broad shoulders, and an intense gaze. The thick, yet well groomed beard didn't exactly soften his looks either. He had a very authoritative aura around him that Beth always crumpled under. It was the culmination of having to be the man of the house at only fourteen and then growing into a successful lawyer. He was used to being treated with respect, used to getting his way, and it didn't matter if you were a random stranger on the street, a client,  or his baby sister. Brad would get his way, because his way was the only way. That's why they had butted heads so much over the years, and why they had a huge fight the day that Beth left New York.

“Okay. Let me stay for a few drinks at least, meet some of your new friends.” This was far from a request or a question. Beth knew that the best way to not get into this with him right now was to just let him have his drinks and then hope he left without a commotion. 

Brad made his way down the bar again and took a seat next to Otis, asking Beth to get him a whiskey. As she dropped a couple of ice cubes in the glass, she could feel her hands shaking and her anxiety rising. 

“Let me tell you, Brad,” Herrmann started. “Beth is the best damn bartender Molly’s has ever seen. Great gal too. We’re lucky to have her,” he praised. It was sweet of him, really, but she knew that Brad would find a way to diminish this. 

“Oh yeah? I'm glad to hear that,” Brad said. “Good for you, sis.” Beth gave him a stern look. She was probably the only one that could hear the sarcasm behind his pretended politeness, and she feared what was to come next. “What? I'm not allowed to be happy for you?” 

“Come on,” she pleaded, but he was already getting started. 

“I'm serious, Beth. I was worried when you left your respectable job at the NYFD - one with a promising future, I might add - but it's nice to see that you have landed on both feet in this dive bar.” 

“Hey-” Herrmann exclaimed, not understanding how this conversation had taken such a sour turn. 

“Outside,” Beth said through gritted teeth. “Now.” 

Brad had a sly smile on his lips as he got up from his seat and started making his way outside. He needed this confrontation with his sister, because in his mind, there wasn't an argument that he couldn't win. 

“What the actual fuck, Brad?” Beth shouted as soon as the door closed behind her. “This is my work. Those people you were talking to are my bosses, and my friends.” 

He sighed. “Sorry. You’re right. That was kind of a dick move.” 

“No shit.” 

“Look,” he started, taking a step closer to her as his features softened again, and Beth could see the loving and compassionate brother she knew still existed under his hard exterior. “I've missed you - we all have. Sunday dinners aren't the same without you.” 

“I miss you guys too, but I'm trying to start fresh here, and you can't just waltz in here and be all critical and judgemental,” she explained in a calm voice. 

“I know. And that's not why I'm here either,” he assured. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope that he gave to her. “It's a plane ticket for tomorrow morning,” he explained. “I want you to come home with me.” 

Her heart sank in her chest as anger coursed through her entire body. She should have seen this coming a mile away, but he had completely blindsided her. “I'm building a life for myself here. I have an apartment, a job I love, and friends. I can't just leave. And more importantly; I don't want to.” 

“You had all those things back home too, but you had no problem leaving that behind… that and your family,” he pushed.

“That's not fair, you know why I left.” 

“You said that you needed space and time. You've had that,” he argued. 

“I needed to leave New York behind, you know that. That place just holds too many bad memories for me.” She felt that familiar lump in her throat, but she swallowed it. She couldn't let him see her cry, she couldn't show him any weakness. “It doesn't mean I've left you guys,” she tried to explain. 

“You know, when you go through a rough time, you ask for help. You don't run away,” he pressed. This was the exact argument they had the day she left. 

Beth didn't know that Kelly had a clear view of them from where he sat inside, and frankly, she was too angry at her brother to even consider the fact that anyone could hear or see their argument. 

“I didn't run away,” she snapped. “And I did ask for help - hell -I begged for help, but none of you gave it to me.” Now her eyes welled with tears and her throat burned, but she would not give him the satisfaction. 

“Because it was always for him, and never for yourself.” 

Kelly saw the tears in her eyes through the window, leapt from his seat and made a beeline for the door. He had no idea what was going on or what he was going to do - or if it was even his place - but he needed to do something.    

“Helping him would have helped me, but you guys turned your back on him - on both of us.” Her lower lip quivered, but she bit it back. 

“He turned his back on all of us first. He was a piece of shit, Beth, but you didn't want to see it… nothing we said or did-” 

Kelly came out just as Beth took a step closer to her brother and pressed an envelope to his chest. 

“He was our father, and he was sick,” she said in a warning tone, staring into her brother's eyes with as much resolve and determination that she could muster up. 

“Everything alright here?” Kelly asked from behind Beth. 

Brad's eyes flew to the stranger as he sized him up. “Everything is fine here,” he said courtly.

“I wasn't talking to you,” Kelly clarified. 

“We’re fine,” Beth said, not taking her eyes off her brother for even a second. “Brad was just leaving.” It was hard to explain, but just knowing that Kelly was there, that she had someone in her corner, helped her stand her ground.  

Silence followed as the two of them just stared at each other. It was Brad who admitted defeat first, knowing that his sister wouldn't back down here. He hated losing, but continuing this argument meant airing their dirty laundry in front of a stranger, and he was too proud to do that. “I hope you change your mind,” he said softly. 

“I won't,” she assured. “I'm good here.” 

Brad looked at Kelly and shook his head disapprovingly before he gave Beth's arm a squeeze, and then he said goodbye. 

She followed him with her eyes as he crossed the street and got into a car he probably had rented at the airport. She could feel Kelly behind her now, even before his hand landed on her lower back. 

“You okay?” he asked, worry in his voice. 

“I'm fine,” she said flatly. She turned around and looked up at him, seeing the concern on his handsome face. “Sorry about that.” 

It was very clear to him that she wasn't fine, but he didn't want to push her to talk to him. Besides, he didn't really know what sort of role he filled in her life right now, and if it was even his place to ask. “Don't apologize,” he assured, squeezing her arm. “If you want to talk, I'm -” 

“I don't want to talk,” she said, cutting him off before he could even finish his sentence. “Just want a drink.” 

“Then let's go get you a drink,” he offered with a smile. 

The two of them went back inside and before she even reached the bar, Gabby had a shot ready for her. Beth took the glass and threw the drink back before slamming the glass back on the counter for Gabby to fill it up again.

“Your brother is quite the charmer,” Herrmann commented as Beth threw back shot number two. He had absolutely no filter this man, which was just one of the many things that made Beth like him. 

“He's normally not like this,” she lied. “Things are just a little tense since I left. I'm sorry for bringing it here though. It won't happen again.” 

“Don't worry about it, sweetheart,” Herrmann assured, patting her on the back. 

Beth went back to work and Kelly joined his friends again. The two of them didn't really interact much through the rest of the evening, and it left him with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. 

Around one a.m, Herrmann told Beth to take the rest of the night off, he could clearly see that her head wasn't in the game, and so he sent her home. Beth dug her phone from her purse as soon as she stepped outside and typed a quick text to Kelly. 

Walk me home?

Then she waited for about half a minute before he came through the door, and the two of them went back to her apartment. 

If you want a tag, just shoot me an ASK and we’ll make that happen. 

Remember that I have a monthly “raffle” where one person who has reblogged and commented on my work will receive a personalized drabble. You enter once with a reblog, and twice with a reblog and comment. 

If you like what you read, press that little reblog button, maybe leave me a little comment. Feedback is a great source of inspiration for me. 

Tags: @campingmonkey​ @deansgirl215​

[stefanmikaleson1864]

My Sunshine

Can you write a one Chicago with a fem reader who works at med as an pediatric surgeon and is the niece of Mouch and Trudy and dating Sylvie Brett? Maybe for plot there’s a hospital shooting and the reader gets shot and almost bleeds out in Brett's arms and lots of angst??

Warning: This has gun violence, and a shooting in a hospital 

You loved your job every part and every perk that came along with it. You got to save lives and help people. It made you feel like you were bigger than yourself. 

One of the major perks it came with was meeting your amazing and beautiful girlfriend. Sylvie Brett. 

You remember the time she came into the hospital with a young kid who was having an asthma attack. 

She was so kind and sweet to the child it made your heart melt. When you looked at her it was like you were looking at sunshine. 

Something so sweet and pure how could someone be so perfect you thought to yourself. 

Now here you were a Platt. Your Aunt was The one and the only Trudy Platt. And let’s just say you got her personality. 

Which you were grateful for. You were one to take charge and be more vocal. 

So when you followed Brett into the breakroom that day you went straight up to her and asked her out. Which she smiled so lovely and said of course. 

Now it’s been 3 years later and you guys were living together and it was so amazing. 

You had recently went out with your Uncle Randall to get a ring to pop the question. 

It was the perfect time. Sense Mouch worked with Sylvie he could ask the questions without giving it away. 

This morning you woke up like more happier and more nervous than you have ever been in your entire life. 

This morning after shift you were going to take Sylvie to park that you had decorated with flowers and lights to purpose with. 

It was going to be just the two of you followed by a celebration at Molly’s. 

While you were getting dressed Sylvie wrapped her arms around you and gave you a sweet kiss. She was in a good mood this morning you thought. 

“Good Morning my Love.” you said to her 

“Good Morning my beautiful girlfriend. I love you”  Sylvie basically sang to you. 

“I love you too now let’s finished getting ready so we can get this shift over with. So we can have our date tonight.” You said pecking her and she hummed in your lips. 

The two of you finished getting dressed and Sylvie dropped you off at work. 

This shift was dragging by. It felt like eternity and you just wanted it to end. 

You were down in the ER and you saw Sylvie bring a patient in. 

You were going over to say hi when she was done but then you heard a man come into the ER screaming and acting crazy you ran over to see if you could help. 

Next thing you know you saw a gun and before you had a chance to react the gun went off. Pop, Pop, Pop Pop.

You heard everyone was screaming.

 You didn’t have time to react because you felt something cold run down your chest.

 You looked down and saw blood and next thing you know you felt your knees went weak and then everything went black. 

Sylvie ran over to your side and started screaming and crying. As soon it started it was over. Jay and Erin had been in the building to talk to a witness when everything was going on. Thank god for that. 

The suspect was taken down by Jay and the body guards. 

Sylvie watched the whole thing happen. It was like a slow motion experience. Like she was out of her own body. This wasn’t happening this couldn’t be real. 

She ran over to you and instantly tried to stop the bleeding and grabbed you and pulled you into her chest. She was shaking and screaming and crying. 

She was covered in your blood. Will came running over with some nurses and a stretcher. She couldn’t let you go. She couldn’t bear it 

“I got her okay, let me help her you can trust me.” Will said 

“It’s okay Sylvie let will do his job.” Gabby said. 

Sylvie handed you over to Will and he ran you into the Trauma Bay. Sylvie quickly followed and watched as they worked on you. 

It was a rough patch. You had coded and they had worked on you for a little bit. You kept flat lining.

Sylvie could only sit by and watch as they worked so hard on you. The love of her life. She prayed and prayed that you would be okay.

Luckily there were no fatalities and only 3 others were injured. Two nurses and one tech.

Not so much later Mouch and Trudy and everyone else came to the hospital. They all sat in the waiting room. 

You got rushed into surgery. It was a couple hours that had gone by. It was hard on everyone they all loved you and was worried about Sylvie. 

Will came into the room and told Sylvie that you were out of surgery. You were stable for now but you weren’t out of the woods yet. 

Trudy told Sylvie that she should be the first to go back. When she got there you were starting to come out of the anesthesia. 

She sat down next to you and grabbed your hand. You smiled back at her and squeezed her hand. 

“Hey you said, how are you?” you asked her.

She laughed and cried 

“Me i’m supposed to ask you that question.” she said 

You wiped her tears away. 

“I’m Okay really i just had so much better plans for today. I had this whole thing in my head how it was going on and then all this happened. Your the only thing that went through my mind when everything  was happening.” you said

“ I know baby but the only thing that matters is that you're okay and you're going to get better.” sylvie said 

“It wasn’t just a regular date for me i know it sounds stupid and this isn’t how it was supposed to happen but now i don’t wanna wait i have to ask you now before anything else goes on. Sylvie Brett I love you so much and you're the best thing that ever happened to me. Will you Marry Me ?.” 

You had never felt so nervous before and my god you were just shot and nearly dead. Sylvie was quiet for a minute and it made you worried. What if you just screwed everything up. 

She laughed so loud and you thought oh no she thinks i’m an idiot.  She went into her pocket and pulled out a box. She opened it up and it was the most beautiful ring ever. 

“ i have been carrying this around all day. I was too nervous. I would leave it at home or something would happen. Tonight isn’t just a date for me either, I wanted to be the one to ask you to marry me.” she said laughing and pulled the ring out of the box.

“If you don’t hurry up and put that beautiful ring on my finger babe.” you told her.

You both laughed and you felt so happy and full of love knowing you were gonna marry the love of your life. 

“I can only imagine how tonight would have been Sylvie said laughing before kissing you.

[ptrparkcrs]

& you say rise above (self-para)

summary: peter meets an old friend in an unexpected place and faces dire consequences word count: 3002 trigger warnings: violence, injury, death mention, spider-man cops (completely useless, but existent)

It was ten seventeen PM. He had been at work late, probably too late, troubleshooting something small and nitpicky that even he barely understood. At least there was always food somewhere in the building, and FRIDAY liked him enough to not yell at him when he stole a second donut, or a third, or when he ordered an extra-large pizza on Tony Stark’s credit card. As long as he didn’t leave his workspace too greasy and saved some leftovers for Tony, he’d probably be fine.

Whatever it was he had been supposed to be working on, clean energy or artificial intelligence or consumer goods or fancy sunglasses, it probably wasn’t supposed to have been reconstructing the lenses of Spider-Man’s mask to better conform to his facial expressions, but Peter had had to do some repairs after Gabby had torn the thing to shreds. If Tony caught him sewing on the clock, what was he going to do? Let Spider-Man go without a mask? Put Peter’s life at risk? No, he’d be fine. He’d been too antsy to focus on real work, his ribs still healing, his face still a little tender. He’d needed a concrete physical distraction and the satisfaction of knowing he was fixing something.

(He’d be totally fine in a day or two; he was almost there, but Gabby had done a pretty solid number on him. Broken ribs, a black eye, scabs where the pavement had rubbed his chin raw, the whole shebang. He told everyone it was a bike accident, even though he didn’t own a bike, because nearly beaten to death by a chemically ramped-up teenager wasn’t something that could realistically have happened to completely normal, non-superhero guy Peter Parker. In retrospect, he should have said he’d crashed his skateboard into a taxi again, which he had done more than once in high school, but hindsight was 20/20.) 

Still, the time spent on the mask during the day had meant a pile of unfinished work, which had meant staying at the tower later. Peter knew that, as best as he’d tried not to be, he was a nepotism hire. He’d waltzed into Stark industries with little training and few qualifications, and he was determined to prove that he was just as suited to be here as anyone else. Yeah, he’d had the internship, but he’d gotten that through sheer dumb luck and minor internet fame, and he and Tony both knew it had been a cover, anyway. Yeah, he had a college degree, but most of his actual work experience had been mediocre photography for a vaguely predatory, second-rate newspaper. He’d been a child prodigy, sure, but last he’d checked most child prodigies peaked sometime around high school, and building the Spider-Man suit for personal gain wasn’t about to go on his resume. He knew any interview process he’d gone through had been performative; he knew that the job had been his no matter what, so long as he hadn’t actually blown up the company. He didn’t want Tony to regret his decision, and he really did want to keep his job. That meant actually doing his work, even if he did have to stay long past dark.

So he’d finally finished—the work and the mask—and headed home to find Sandwich demanding a second dinner and a walk. Fine. Okay. He could do that.

“All you’ve got going for you is your body, bud,” he said. “Don’t know why you’re so determined to ruin that.” Sandwich was beautiful, in a scraggly rescue dog kind of way (Aunt May said he looked like the dog from Annie, which was probably a compliment), but he was also dumb as a rock. He put a few treats in the bowl anyway and went to find a leash.

As he dug through the storage cube where he was sure he’d left the good collar, Peter heard sirens. They sounded close, maybe a few blocks away, and getting closer. His police scanner was on his nightstand, but there wasn’t time to check. Sirens were as good a cue as any.

“I’ll be back soon,” he told Sandwich, as he grabbed his suit from the pile on the floor, pulled it on, and headed towards the window. “We’ll walk later. Promise. Please don’t eat the couch again while I’m gone.”

The dog grunted and went back to eating.

&&&

Web swinging was hard today. His body groaned with every movement, resisting the stress of his acrobatics. Still healing. He hadn’t realized she’d gotten him quite that badly; he’d been up against way worse than a single teenage girl, but he hadn’t had anyone try so determinedly to kill him from such close range in a long time--not since Norman, or maybe Harry, but that had felt a little more reluctant. Fine, he’d go easy on the somersaults.

So long as whatever was up there wasn’t a troupe of murderous acrobats, he’d probably be okay. At least the new mask was holding up well.

What was up ahead, three or five or seven or twenty-six blocks from his apartment, he’d lost count, was—lights. Sirens. Yelling. A strange, echoing thump-thump. Shit. He dropped himself onto a rooftop to survey the scene, his ribs only groaning a little bit as he landed in a crouch. A bank, long closed for the night, its windows smashed. A row of police cars, like a barricade. Coming in from the north, fire trucks, an ambulance. A small throng of bystanders, their phones out, edging around the scene. A trail of broken asphalt running away in the opposite direction.

And in the middle of it all, a figure.

A man, maybe. In a long jacket, something more than the night obscuring his face. He—if it was a he—didn’t seem very big, but he hovered several feet above the ground, supported by what appeared to be a pair of giant robotic arms. Another pair spread wide into the night air, lashing at anyone who tried to approach.

Peter was pretty sure he’d seen those arms before, or something very like them. Mostly in sketches, then once or twice in a lab in college, never in use, just propped up safely against the back wall. They help my dexterity, Peter. More precise.

But that had been in a secure research lab up at Columbia, where the arms had helped a man’s clumsy hands study nuclear physics at an atomic scale, not ravage a bank on the Lower East Side. Stolen tech, maybe? A copycat? Convergent evolution, two people independently building the same machine at the same time? But what were the odds of that, really? These were robotic arms, not clean energy or self-driving cars. It was too niche. Who was this man, and what could he want?

He swung down, closer, landing on the hood of a police car. The officer standing next to it looked down at Peter and sighed.

“Hey, Spider-Man,” he said. “You can go home. We’ve got this.”

Peter tethered himself to a lamppost closer to the bank and leapt off the hood, angry at his stupid fragile body keeping him from somersaulting away for maximum dramatic effect. “That’s what you always say, Bill.”

“It’s David.”

“I really don’t care.”

He landed on the lamppost, but just barely. The many-armed man had seen him coming and was getting closer, one of his robotic limbs swiping at Peter’s perch. Peter leaped off before the pole could crash down and rolled to the ground, where he finally got a good look at his assailant.

He hadn’t imagined it. He knew those arms.

“Doctor Oc—"

Doctor Octavius. His thesis advisor. A kind, absentminded, academic type, the brand who left their office littered with sticky notes to remember to buy milk, who replied to emails four days late at two in the morning. He’d called Peter a genius kid, said he’d had what it takes to save the world. Because that’s what scientists do, Peter. We change things. We fix them. We make them better. We help the people who can’t help themselves—you get that, don’t you?

Oh, he got it.

Doc was wearing glasses, and his jovial smile had twisted into a sneer, but it was unmistakably him. He lowered himself to the ground, all four metal arms swirling around him.“Oh, great,” he said. “It’s the bug boy. What, couldn’t send any of the real superheroes to stop me? Daddy too busy arresting innocent people?”

With all due respect, Peter thought, what the fuck? Sure, he wasn’t an Enforcer, but his old professor going on a crime spree with a set of weaponized robot arms, probably having some sort of episode, called for enforcement.

He lifted himself off the ground slowly. His body was already screaming for a break, and they were barely getting started. “Look, dude, I respect the whole eight-legs thing, but you don’t gotta be so literal about it. It’s kinda—what’s the word? Tacky.”

Doc lunged at him; Peter dodged. “Wait, no,” he continued. “Kitschy. Campy. Gaudy.” Another swipe, another dodge. “No, I was right the first time. Tacky, it’s tacky.”

The next swipe came from behind him, and Peter jumped out of the way just in time. “What do you even want, Doc? For a guy in tights to teach you that robbing banks and taking hostages is wrong? Congrats, you got it!” He didn’t know if there were hostages; he’d been too stunned by Otto to check, he just assumed there were. There were almost always hostages when the guys in costumes got involved.

“How do you know my name?” Octavius growled.

Yep, there were hostages.

“I dunno, it was just a vibe. You kind of look like my dentist.” And the man who shaped my college career, but same thing.

Most nights he could go on like this forever. Banter, dodge, punch, jump, repeat. Talk him into submission, until he was too worn down by Peter’s endless punchlines to punch back.  Tonight, he was tired. He was injured. He had a dog at home waiting for a walk. This needed to be quick—rescue the hostages, get Otto taken in and looked after. (Kindly, he hoped; the Otto Octavius he knew was a good man, and was probably in there somewhere, scared and confused.) In the morning, maybe Peter Parker could call to innocently, coincidentally check in on his old mentor and get the full story.

“You’re a nuisance, Spider-Man. You know that, don’t you?”

“So it said on my report cards.”

Octavius stepped closer, and Peter webbed one of his metal legs to the ground, but he kept swiping. In his real arms, the human ones, Peter could see a briefcase, presumably full of the stolen money or techno-weapons for looting safety deposit boxes. So he already had what he wanted, but still the hostages, still the rampage, still the crazed look behind those horrible dark goggles. Peter could deal with him, the cops could free the hostages, they’d be fine, this was fine, everything was going to be fine.

But how had this happened—why had this happened? Did he poison everyone he touched? Ben, Gwen, Norman, even Harry, all either dead or driven mad by his proximity. Who next? Tony? May? Steph? MJ? His high school science teacher? His next-door neighbors?

You ruin everything, Peter Parker. They’re safer if you don’t love them, if they don’t love you. You’re a time bomb. A nuclear blast. Look at what you do to them. What you’ve done. You’re not worth it.

His spider sense alerting him to an incoming blow put a pause on the cycle of self-loathing. He couldn’t dodge in time, and an angry fist landed hard against his face. He groaned, and he tasted the blood from his (now probably broken) nose as it dripped into his mouth. “What do you want, Otto?” he spat.

Shit.

“Doctor” he could get away with as a joke, but how would Spider-Man know Doctor Octavius’s first name? He wouldn’t, that’s how. Not unless they knew each other in real life, civilian life, faces uncovered and feet on the ground. Peter, you idiot. His cover, which he had so carefully maintained for the past eight years, was about a minute from being blown by an academic in octopus cosplay. 

This shouldn’t have been happening. He was a professional, he was good at this. He had learned from his past, he was doing better, and these were amateur mistakes. He was off his game, that’s what this was. He was exhausted, injured, overworked, stunned by the improbability of it all. His whole life was improbable; he should have known to expect this kind of thing by now, but he wasn’t convinced he wasn’t living out some middle schooler’s sadistic Mad Libs. He still had time to fix this.

Otto said nothing; he just laughed.

Peter tried to launch himself in the air for a swing and a kick, but his reflexes were slowing, his injuries worsening. Whatever healing he’d done had been set back several days, and every movement was more labored than the last. Before he could evade, the arms, all of them now free of webbing, wrapped themselves around him and pulled him in. Peter hissed in response, his exhalation short and shallow, doing his best to suppress a yelp.

“Oh, come on. Personal space, dude,” he said, and the top left arm pinched his wrists together in response. He was now being held fast in evil, sentient handcuffs, no hopes of swinging away in sight. Nothing this stupid would have happened to Tony; Tony would have had lasers and lights and taken out this guy in minutes. Hell, he could have called in the Iron Legion for backup if he’d wanted, but a single man didn’t deserve it. Peter was a disappointment, again. This should have been so easy, and yet.

And yet.

Peter wasn’t Tony Stark.

“Otto,” growled Octavius.

Peter said nothing.

“Why did you call me that?”

This time, Peter squirmed. He was being held tightly, so tightly. His wrists were raw, his chest burning, and at some point, he had started to bleed. Work was going to have to buy bike accident twice this week. ”I told you. You look like my dentist. His name’s Otto. It was a lucky guess.”

“Somehow, I don’t believe you.”

His head spun and his mouth tasted like iron and asphalt as the world tunneled in around the edges of his vision. His hands still tied, he tried to gain some leverage with a kick, but the other arms squeezed even tighter until he was sure he felt a crunch. Great. This was it, this was how he died. Sometime around midnight outside a random bank because his college thesis advisor had taken up a life of crime and he’d been too weak and injured to do anything about it. Yeah, that tracked.

“Who are you, Spider-Man?”

Peter couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, could only steel himself as his spider sense turned on high alert. Imminent danger, big time. Yeah, he got it. With the human hand not holding the briefcase, Otto pulled the mask from his head.

And immediately dropped him, limp and winded and battered, to the ground.

Peter’s bare skin was so cold, the streetlights so bright, every sound and smell heightened without the mask.

Otto’s face had cleared with recognition, and his sneer fell away. “Peter?”

Peter groaned. Then he peeled himself off the ground and launched a flurry of web bombs until Otto was wrapped tightly all over. It wouldn’t hold long, but it would have to hold long enough to get him taken safely into custody. Locked up in the Raft for ten to life, a brilliant man’s work cut short by his own creation. (Was it too soon to make Frankenstein jokes?) But Peter couldn’t think about the tragedy of it yet. He had to keep moving.

He kept his head down until he found the mask by Otto’s feet. His hands were shaking, and it took impossibly long to fit it back over his head. It was twisted or too small or made for someone else entirely, bunching around his neck and pulling uncomfortably against his swollen face. And then he stood up, wobbly and wheezing, and faced the officers who were pulling the hostages from the building. Maybe they’d been inside. Maybe they hadn’t seen him. Maybe it was okay.

“You’ve got this from here, Bill,” he said, and, with every ounce of willpower he had left, he swung away on shaky arms to pick up his dog, call Aunt May, and hide in his childhood bedroom for the rest of his life.

&&&

The officers may not have seen him, but there had been bystanders. There are always bystanders, just like there are always hostages. They have cameras. They have social media. They flock to danger, to drama, to sensationalism. They post suffering for the likes and the retweets and the fleeting moments of fame. A Spider-Man sighting was pretty commonplace--novel, but not extraordinary. But this tableau, a hero in crisis, an identity revealed, that was media gold. This was a millennial icon’s Pyrrhic victory. This was a new weak spot in the Accords. And under all that bravado, he was just a scared little boy. They didn't recognize him (there was at least one audible boo when someone realized that Spider-Man was just another pasty white boy), but they’d seen him, and that was enough.

The responsible thing would have been to keep his secret, to respect the sanctity of what had happened here tonight. But the bystanders are never responsible.

While all the others had been texting and tweeting and snapping and streaming, at least one had had the wherewithal to take a picture with one of their fancy, enormous, three-lensed phone cameras and capture Spider-Man unmasked, clear as day, battered and bloody but distinctly him, and send it straight to the Daily Bugle.

(The ball’s in your court now, Jameson.)

[fank0ne]

ONE CHICAGO FINALES

MED:

The Marchexton (yeah, I did that) triangle. I'm so sad for April, I kinda felt it coming. It seems like she doesn't even wanna find an alternative method and that's totally understandable.

I didn't like Ethan reaction at the whole "I don't know if I want to have a baby". I mean, I personally don't think you can find a compromise on that topic, but what the hell Ethan, are you with her because you love her or because you want her to give you a bunch of little Chexton? And you give her an ultimatum? Fuck you, dawg! It's difficult to rationalize and I know it's not black or white, I get that, but still... I understand him, but I didn't like how he acted.

And if I side with April on that, I totally have to disagree for what she did later. I hate cheating, physically, mentally, whatever you got, I hate when people are dishonest about their feelings. I know she was trying to process the bad news and she feels like Ethan was not being supportive, I know Dr. Marcel is charming and all that, but these were not valid reasons for her to kiss Crockett. I'm sorry. You come clean, you tell your partner how you feel, you talk to him/her about what to do next, then you get to do whatever the fuck you want.

Daniel and Cece. Damn, seeing Dr. Charles cry broke my heart. His relationship with Cece is so adorable, though I have a feeling is not gonna last any longer. Cece is really sick, unfortunately. Oh, hi Robin! I'm now used to seeing Mekia on The Rookie, didn't think she would made an appearance on Med anymore.

Maggie and Ben. Ben wasn't actually dying! I wanna see their relationship improve, but I don't wanna see Maggie acting like a dumb fool who doesn't have a functioning brain. She needs to get it together and stop being unreasonable.

Manstead is over. Is it, though? I wanna make sure we're done with this nightmare of a relationship for good, I don't don't wanna be surprised at the end of this season.

"I have been so unfair to Will" well, I'm glad you realized that, Nat! It's funny to me that she was saying those things while Elsa was next to her and, you know, Elsa has a crush on Will (though she's still the gayest character on Med to me), allegedly.

"We aren't good for one another, all we do is hurt each other. (...) I feel free" wow William, took you long enough to understand that, but I guess we made it. I'm so glad he's the one who said those words and I'm pretty sure he really means them. He looked so at peace with this realisation, it really made me happy. My cute baby!

FIRE:

Stella. She had to make an accident to admit that she needed to slow down a little bit. I swear to God, seeing her all agitated at doing multitasking almost triggered my anxiety, I'm not even kidding.

Aw, Boden apologized to her. I love that he told her that he respects her and her potential and that he himself should've done better than this. It was cute.

Dawsey. Why the fuck did Gabby come back for? I still don't get it. I don't wanna be mean or anything, but that visit was totally uncalled for and pointless. What kind of closure is that? Just say you wanted to fuck one last time, don't try to come up with fake deep excuses. I don't know, it was good to see Monica again (God, that woman is so gorgeous, it's unfair), but Gabby could've stayed in Puerto Rico.

Ouch, I saw Sylvie's bummed face and god do I know that feeling! I'm still not 100% sure about Brettsey (mostly because Matt doesn't seem to know what he really wants yet), but we'll see.

Thank you Matt for mentioning Antonio! It seems like he's the only one who hasn't forgot about him. Yes, I'm being super petty.

Gallo and Ritter. Unless they show me who tf Ritter's boyfriend is, I'm still going to believe it's/ship him with Blake.

Crotis forever! I'm so glad they're still talking about Brian and not acting like he wasn't an important part of 51. His friendship with Joe is one of the best things on the show.

Severide. That lady at OFI... sis has taste, that's all I can say. I wish Kelly would explicitly mention that he has a girlfriend so that woman (I'm sorry, I didn't get her name) would know what boundaries she shouldn't overstep.

The last scene... can you give this man a break? Just when he has a little taste of tranquility in his life, boom!, something happens. I love drama, though, so I'm digging whatever is coming, for sure.

PD:

That Buzerk convo... what tf was that? Awkward, almost cringe-worthy. Yikes.

Jay's undercover name has changed. Goodbye Ryan, say hello to Jim!

"Jay's going through a few things" when isn't he, though? Drama is his second name.

I know he wasn't thinking straight and he wanted to come clean for whatever reason, but, damn, he's so stupid sometimes. Of course Angela was gonna rat him out/want him dead if he told her he's a cop - the one who basiclly got his husband killed.

Hailey. I loved her. I absolutely adore how she's got Jay's back no matter what and, damn, the fact that he was kidnapped really got to her. She was pissed, worried, angry... we've never seen her like this, at least not to this extents! I actually liked to see Adam comfort her. I totally ship Upstead (like, I would literally die for them), but I like the fact that Adam is still somebody she can rely on.

I swear to god, when she broke that cup a shard went into her eye, I SAW IT. How come she's not blind?!

I kinda missed seeing Voight beat the shit outta people in that cage. It was nice to witness it again. LOL

Angela, I swear to god, if Voight or Hailey don't kill you, I Will (Halstead - get it? It's fun, leave me alone).

Guys, I honestly thought it was gonna be like when Kev got kidnapped and nothing extreme happened, apart from his injured leg, but that bitch really shot my son Jay! I thought he was gonna trick her somehow into giving up that gun, but it didn't happened... which is fine by me, because yeah I love my man, but I wanna see him suffer too. Sounds fucked up? Hell yeah, it does. Do I care? No, I don't. Give me my whump!Jay/Upstead content and I'll be happy.

[sugarcoated-pain]

Haven

Here is the first part to a new story I’ve been working on. I hope you all enjoy! 

Alien!Luke Apocalypse AU 

As always, thanks to @sublimehood for making sure my writing doesn’t totally suck. 

Gabriella

They came at night. Wiped out three quarters of Earth's population before we even knew they were here. Their technology was unlike anything anyone had ever seen or was even able to comprehend. Apparently their planet was no longer inhabitable, and ours was the most similar to theirs of those they had discovered.  They took over all the major cities, forcing the remaining humans to scatter. No one understands why they didn't just kill us all. 

Of the few things we know about them, we've discovered they can change their appearance, earning them the nickname "changers" among some of the survivors. They're apparently able to take on the appearance of humans, making it almost impossible to distinguish who the enemy is. 

Six months have passed since they first arrived. Here on the outskirts of what used to be Chicago, I'm part of a small resistance group working to overthrow them. I've never been much of a fighter but I was a nurse before this all went down, and those skills have definitely come in handy. My best friend, Maya, was always the tough one, so it's fitting that she is one of the leaders of our group. 

Medical supplies are running low at headquarters, requiring me to go on a supply run. Since I suck at fighting, someone always escorts me to the hospital. This time, it's Maya accompanying me. Rush Hospital is so eerie now. No electricity,  most rooms and supply closets stripped of their contents. It's getting harder and harder to find supplies each trip we make. 

"Alright, let's get what we need and get the hell out of here." Maya proclaims as we enter another wing of the hospital. 

"We've already picked most of this place clean. We will have to start branching out further soon.."

"Wait, did you hear that?" Maya asks as a shuffling noise sounds again somewhere below us. "I'm gonna go check it out. Get your shit and let's go."

I hurry through the hall, scanning each room   for one that doesn't look like it's been raided yet. As I turn a corner, I hear a rustling sound in the next room. Just as I'm deciding to turn around and head back to Maya as quietly as possible, a man stumbles out of the room. He's holding his side and is clearly in distress. 

I walk closer to him slowly. "Hey, are you okay?" Its hard to see him in the dim light streaking in through the windows of the nearest room, but I can tell he's young, probably around my age. Disheveled blonde curls cover part of his face. As I approach him, I can't help but notice how handsome he is. Not really the time for that, but I'm only human. 

"I'm fine. Just go." He replies quickly, attempting to back away from me. 

"You're not fine. I can tell you're injured. I have medical training, let me help you. What happened?" 

"Stabbed by a changer." He drops a knife to the ground, and it is unlike anything I've ever seen. The ornate details on it and even the metal itself are definitely nothing from this world. 

"Please let me help you." Once I am about a foot away from him, a terrible shock hits me as daylight washes over him. His blood is dark, not red like a human, but black as night. The black shirt he's wearing hides it well but the blood dripping to the floor is clearly black. He's one of them.

He looks at me tentatively, studying my face as I take in the situation. "I told you to go.." he slumps to the ground. 

I hear Maya running back up the stairs. "Gabbi let's go NOW! I don't think we're alone." 

I glance down at this creature in front of me. There's no way I can just leave him here to die, alien or not. Frantically, I bolt into the nearest room and shove anything I can find into my bag. As an afterthought, I grab a towel from a cabinet. Running back out to the hallway, I hand the towel to this beautiful alien. "Cover your wound with that and apply pressure. I can help stitch you up but not here." I add, bending down to try to help him up. 

"What?? Why would you help me?" 

"You've had every opportunity to kill me already, and if you're telling the truth about being stabbed by one of your own, then there's a good chance you're about to die if I leave you here." I wrap his arm around my shoulders and attempt to pull him up. "Whatever you do, keep that wound covered."

Maya charges up the stairs and down the hall toward us. "Who the hell is this?" 

"No idea but he's hurt and needs our help. Let's go."  

She eyes me curiously and huffs but doesn't argue and starts to lead the way out of the hospital.

"He won't make it all the way to head quarters like this. Let's hit one of the safe houses nearby." I whisper to Maya as we sneak our way between buildings. Once we reach the safe house, I instruct her to stand guard while I help the handsome stranger onto a battered couch in the front room. I position myself so that if Maya comes into the room, she won't immediately see that this wound is black. I hate hiding things from her but she's a hot head and would probably kill him without a second thought. 

"So, do you have a name?" I ask softly as I remove the towel and assess the damage. 

"You can call me Luke." He answers quietly,  watching my every move. 

"Huh. A human name. That opens up even more questions. Well, Luke, I'm Gabriella. Can you tell me why one of your own kind would stab you?" I start with this one of  approximately 83 questions I have for him as I open up my bag and start pulling out supplies to get to work. 

He looks at my face with a thoughtful expression,  as if he's debating how much he should share.  Apparently saving his life earns his trust. "He found out that I am part of a rebellion group that doesn't agree with our leader and his tactics."

This information makes me pause. I stare at him for a moment, completely baffled by his statement. "If somebody found out, doesn't that mean your cover is blown? Won't he tell everyone else?" 

"He would if he was still alive.."

"....oh." I continue working on his wound and try to wrap my mind around there being an alien rebellion. "What has your leader done to cause a rebellion?" 

"Murdering the majority of the population on your planet, instead of attempting to land peacefully as we had all agreed upon."

My stomach drops, as it does anytime I am reminded of the fact that almost everyone I have ever known is now dead. But it's almost worse to hear that it wasn't actually supposed to happen at all. "What do you mean?"

"We've been sending scouts here for years, knowing that our planet was dying. We've been studying Earth and assessed that humans wouldn't be a threat to us. Even with the full force of your military,  our technology vastly overpowers yours. The plan was to land peacefully and try to adapt to life here and live as humans do. With that in mind, our council agreed there would be no reason to use force, at least not unless necessary. But our tyrannical leader changed course at the last minute." 

My brain can't process what I'm hearing. "You've been...studying us?" 

"We wanted to blend in. As you've probably realized, we can shape shift, and we wanted to make the transition as easy as possible. It was meant to be a gesture of kindness, showing you all that we were willing to learn your ways and attempt to blend in." 

"All done." I finish stitching up his wound and start cleaning up, stashing the bloody towel behind the couch. "Why were you in this part of the city today? It's usually a complete ghost town over here…"

He hesitates again, as if trying to decide how much more he can trust me with. "Those of us in the rebellion have been trying to keep an eye on the movements of the surviving humans. We have reason to believe there's a resistance group fighting back. We've been trying to determine if it might be possible to ally with them." Those ice blue eyes are piercing, and I somehow know he's telling the truth. 

"Why should I believe you?" 

"You just saved my life, what reason do I have to lie to you? I could have easily killed you and your friend by now but I personally have no reason to." 

"There is a resistance group." It tumbles out of my mouth before I even process what I'm doing. "I can take you to them. But I think we should pretend you're human, at least until you've earned their trust." 

"Gabbi, you about done in there? We're losing daylight." Maya pokes her head through the front door.

"Yeah just finished." Making sure his wound is fully covered and there's no sign of black blood anywhere, I turn to face her. "Hey Maya, this is Luke. He heard rumors of the resistance and came to find us. I think we should take him back to HQ with us…"

She looks curiously at me, then turns to Luke, studying him closely. Eventually, she replies. "I mean, we will definitely need to run it by Ashton and the others before he can officially join but I say, the more the merrier. We can use all the help we can get. Welcome to the resistance Luke." 

I sigh with relief and then turn to Luke, who gives me the first small smile I have seen from him. It looks good on him.

taglist: @aspiringwildfire @singt0mecalum @angelbabylu @5sosnsfw @irwinkitten @dammitbands @asht0ns-world @dukesnumber1 @lashtoncurls @calpops

Let me know if you’d like to be added to the list for future parts. 

[witchygagirlwrites]

Best Friend (Part 2/3)

you and Kevin are best friends but when you start to fall for him you start pulling away until a life threatening situation urges you to confess how you feel

An alarm ripped through the firehouse before you heard Casey's voice "STRUCTURAL FIRE AT AN APARTMENT BUILDING. MULTIPLE INJURIES. LETS MOVE PEOPLE"

You grabbed your jacket and ran behind Brett to your rig and just slammed the door shut as she pulled out onto the road.

-----

At the same time you were responding to the call the intelligence was getting a notification saying it fit the m.o. of the arsonist they'd been after for the last two weeks.

"Now remember this isn't officially our scene until they have it cleared but let's roll out alot of these sickos like sticking around to watch their handy work we may hit it lucky and catch this asshole" Hank barked out as everyone grabbed their jackets and headed for the stairs.

-----

You were working through the triage area another Gabby had set up upon arriving to the scene.

So far the worse injury you'd seen was a broken femur. There was lots of cuts and luckily low degree burns but so far it was looking as if everyone had gotten out unscathed until a man around your age approached you.

He was wearing a ups uniform so it was clear he'd probably heard the news and headed straight here. You figured it would be a simple case of finding out the name of his loved ones and pointing him towards which tent.

-----

"Sir can I help you?" You asked and he nodded "My wife Jessica she's uh she's eight months pregnant. She was on bed rest where is she? We live in two fifteen"

You felt your heart skip a beat at his words. You had walked every inch of the traige area and hadn't seen a pregnant woman. "Sir can you just have a seat right here" you spoke keeping your voice calm from years of training it.

Her eyes widened as she shook her head "I'll go talk to him. You go tell Casey we've got someone still inside"

-----

You grabbed one of the bags out her rig that held a scba mask and fire blanket and threw it over your shoulder as you ran to where you'd last seen Matt.

You spotted Kelly first and hollered "SEVERIDE!"  He turned towards you so you told him "There's a woman eight months along inside. Apartment two fifteen" he nodded and headed back in calling across his radio.

You started back towards triage but heard a clanking noise like someone hitting on pipes and it occured to you these buildings had multiple emergency exits. She could be trapped and by the time you got one of the guys out to her it could be too late from smoke inhalation alone.

You pulled your radio from your side and tuned it to the channel they used to communicate inside "Um fellas I think i may have heard something near the north west corner"

A few moments passed and you heard the clanking again and no one had responded. Your only thought was a pregnant woman dying because you didn't do anything so without thinking of your own safety you headed in the direction of the noise carefully stepping over boards that had fallen from the fire burning two stories up.

"CALL OUT!" you hollered and heard a weak "I'm here!" and followed it. You pulled the scba mask out and put it over your face because the smoke was already to the point of making tears spring to your eyes.

-----

Meanwhile the scene two blocks from the fire was one of madness. Antonio had spotted the guy as soon as he parked his car and alerted the rest of the unit who eventually caught him after a foot chase.

Antonio, Hank and Al headed back to the station while everyone else continued to the fire to see if they could possibly help.

Time Kevin stepped out the car he spotted Brett and immediately looked for you as he walked towards her. When she looked up he smiled and pointed around "Where's my girl?"

Brett looked around then hollered at Gabby asking where you had ended up.

Gabby shrugged that she didn't know then spotted Casey walking out the building and asked him if he talked to you or if they'd found the pregnant woman. When the answer to both was a no the entire scene went into a panic.

-----

You carefully picked your way towards the sound of the plea for help and spotted legs pinned under a beam. You followed them and said a silent prayer at discovering her stomach was untouched.

You leaned down so she could see you and smiled "Jessica? Your husband is worried about you" she started crying at seeing she wasn't alone then started coughing. You immediately ripped the mask off yourself and helped her put it on then spread the fire blanket over her. "I'm gonna try to move these beams just stay still ok?" She nodded so you moved down to her legs where they were pinned.

You pulled the radio from your side and tried the line again "Fellas I'm in the north west corner near the rear emergency exit I've got a trapped female late twenties in her eight month. I need some help"

When no response came you groaned and slid it back on your side before deciding to try the beams.

You squatted down to get a good grip ignoring the burning starting in your lungs and how the heat was licking up your shoulders telling you the fire was getting close to where the two of you were.

You tried with everything you had but it only moved a couple inches no where near far enough to get her free.

You eased it back down and moved up to her side to access any other wounds. You asked questions around coughing and she nodded yes or no.

From what you could tell at least one of her legs were broken but the baby was moving at least.

There had been no noise from your radio so you tuned back to the line Gabby and Brett would hear and tried "Dawson, Brett. Get the boys. I'm trapped in the North West corner near the rear fire exit. I found the pregnant woman. Her legs are pinned and I'm guessing from the heat the fire is working towards us"

-----

Everyone went silent when Gabby yelled across "SHUT THE HELL UP!" and raised her radio so they could hear your voice. You were already gasping between each word from the smoke and warning the fire was headed your way which it was. She also knew you'd die before you left someone injured.

Kevin felt his heart drop hearing your voice. You tried to keep it strong but the way it broke at the end giving way to a cough felt like someone had punched him in the gut.

Casey started barking out orders to the men to keep the fire pushed back from where you were then hollered for Kelly "Severide! You're with me" Kelly ran to his side and he looked back at Gabby "Keep her talking. We'll get to her"

-----

You had laid the radio down next to Jessica's legs and tried again to free them but it was to avail. If no one came you would both die. The burning in your lungs was getting worse and breathing was more of a task but Jessica was pregnant. There was no way you were taking the mask from her.

You were struggling to get enough air in your lungs as the surrounding area got even thicker in smoke clouding everything but Jessica from your line of view.

Suddenly the radio crackled and of all people you heard Kevin's voice come through "Sweetheart hasn't Otis told you if you wanted to play fireman you needed more training?"

You cracked a small smile and got enough smokey air into your lungs to say "Well you know me always the impatient one"

A wave of nausea hit you along with what felt like the start of a migraine and you had treated  inhalation victims enough to know it was officially setting in.

"Well just slow down. Severide and Casey are coming to you. The rest of the crew is working to keep the fire back" you nodded knowing he couldn't see you and moved up to check on Jessica. She was alert and staying calm like you'd asked. When you asked how her breathing was she nodded and focused on the breaths like you told her.

"Kev the smoke is getting really bad" you admitted breaking a little when you started counting in your head the amount of minutes you'd been in here hoping you'd gotten that mask on Jessica before the smoke got too much on her and the baby and knowing if they didn't get here soon the smoke could kill before the fire had a chance.

The sound of what you knew was more portions of the building collapsing ran through the space and you worried what would happen if enough fell to block the two of you from rescue.

-----

Kevin held the radio to his forehead taking a few deep breaths before trying to talk again. Your voice was getting a hoarseness to it Gabby said wasn't good.

He knew you well enough to know you were scared. Whether for yourself, the pregnant woman in your care or both of you he wasn't sure but he knew if you were scared it was bad.

"Kevin can you keep her talking?" Gabby asked and he nodded she added "Ask her about the pregnant woman keep her mind on something else"

Before he could hit the button on the radio to talk to you again a loud crack was heard followed by Otis shouting about the fire trying to break through.

He shook his head to keep his attention fully on you instead of the insanity of the scene "Sweetheart Gabby said how's your patient doing?"

-----

You were barely holding onto consciousness at the moment when Kevin's voice cracked across the radio again. Him asking how Jessica was stirred you enough that you crawled from where you'd been squatting at her feet up to her face.

Soot was covering the mask so you wiped it off and saw her eyes were wide but she was doing the breaths you'd showed her "How ya doing?" You asked grimacing at your own voice. "I'm scared" she finally admitted.

You leaned down closer to her and whispered "I am too but we just gotta hold tight"

She nodded and laid a hand on her belly. You followed it with your eyes and saw what was probably a foot moving back and forth across her belly and smiled weakly.

You pulled the radio up to your mouth and hit the button "She's holding tight"

-----

Kevin smiled when he heard your voice again. It was the best sound in the world and he just had to keep you going just a little longer. Kelly and Casey had reported they were almost to you but portions of the roof had collapsed barring their way.

"How bout you? How you doing?" He asked into the radio praying to anything listening that the firemen would get through to you in time.

"Chest hurts like hell" you breathed and he cut his eyes at Brett who mouthed "Smoke inhalation" and felt his stomach flip.

"Well how about I talk and you can just listen and let me know you're there ok?" He offered and Brett nodded that it was ok to go that route.

-----

You were checking Jessica's pulse trying to make sure her heart was beating where it should. When you were sure it was you spoke into the radio "You always did like to talk Kev" and had to block your mouth in your arm to keep the cough from gagging you.

He hesitated and said "Well you can't run from me now how's about you tell me why you been avoiding me? Do my breath smell bad or something?"

You almost laughed "Naw Kev you smell fine. I might not right now"

You leaned over on the wall close to Jessica's head keeping a hand on her pulse at all times.  "Well baby why then I miss you this is the longest we've talked in a while"

"Hard to explain Kev" you answered and leaned your bed back listening for any clue the boys were getting closer to the two of you.

-----

"Three more minutes Kev. That's all we need" Gabby whispered in his ear and he nodded.

He stepped away from everyone else to clear his own head. He had to keep his attention solely on you and only you. "Try me. I'm understanding and I know when Kelly and Casey get to you. You're gonna come out in boss mode ready to handle any and all injured out here and won't have time to talk to me till later"

------

You looked down at Jessica who was fighting to keep her eyes opened and shook her gently. She was breathing for two and even with the mask the smoke was getting to be too much. She opened her eyes and looked up at you "Who's on the radio?" "My friend" you answered and she nodded "Sounds as worried as my husband would be"

You knew another few minutes you would lose consciousness then Jessica would be right after you. You'd been breathing pure smoke for too long and god help if you passed out then her body decided the trauma was too much and her water broke.

"Kev I care about you so much" by this point you'd basically pulled Jessica's head into your lap. "I care about you too sweetheart" he answered quickly and you started coughing again using your arm to block it from Jessica.

Your eyes were drawn up and what you saw made your eyes widen. There was a large section of the floor overhead barely holding on. If a good gust of wind whipped through it would fall directly on top of the two of you.

You handed Jessica the radio and pointed up "I gotta try to move you. At least a little so hold onto the radio ok?" She nodded so you squatted again trying to use the wall as momentum to get her moved and smiled when the beam shifted enough you were able to get her legs free this time.

She cried out in pain and you saw her leg was twisted at the opposite angle it should be. You pulled her back a few more inches and moved down to check her lower half.

As far as you could find there was no open wounds. You had her free but there was no way you could get her out. You were too weak.

"Kev tell em I got her free" you breathed across the radio half collapsing next to her as you tried to get a breath that didn't burn.

-----

"SHE GOT HER FREE" Kevin hollered across to Hermman who reiterated across the radio.

Kevin's desperation cut through the air bringing you back to the bit of consciousness you were clinging to. Jessica had turned her head to look at you but she couldn't get up because of her leg and you just felt too weak.

-----

"You're doing great baby. Kelly got one more wall to get through and they'll be at you. Talk to me" he tried and when you didn't respond he felt his knees weaken "COME ON SWEETHEART ANSWER ME!"

"I love you kev. You need to know that" you spoke weakly into the radio right before you spotted a chunk of roof coming down headed for Jessica and dove blocking her face and chest with your body and felt darkness wash over you.

Kevin was dumbfounded. You just told him you loved him but was it how he loved you? Was it how he felt like he wasn't himself when the two of you didn't talk, was it how when he was with you he felt. Was it how he was standing there feeling completely helpless watching this burning burn knowing you were trapped inside?

Before he could respond to you Hermman hollered "EMTS GET READY THEY'RE COMING OUT!"

------

Kevin saw Casey first carrying a body and it was apparent from the bump that was the pregnant woman you'd went in after.

A man wearing a ups uniform ran forward as she was being loaded onto a gurney "Is she ok?" The woman ripped the scba mask off and pulled her husband into a hug "She saved me"

The woman was quickly loaded into another ambo that peeled out for med but Gabby and Slyvie were waiting on you. Kelly walked out with you in his arms. "DAWSON, BRETT SHE'S HURT AND NOT BREATHING"

Once he was clear of the building he laid you down and started cpr while Slyvie and Gabby ran forward.

Kevin hadn't realized he was moving until he felt Jay and Adam both grab him. "stay back man let them work" Adam pleaded but he couldn't. You were laying bleeding from the back of your head and you weren't breathing. He loved you more than just about anything in this world and now he wouldn't have the chance to tell you.

Otis and Hermman both joined the efforts to try to hold Kevin back. His eyes were glued to your still form and he felt his knees buckle out from underneath him when he heard Gabby holler "WE'RE LOSING HER"

[thecomicsnexus]

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #52-56 OCTOBER 1992 - FEBRUARY 1993 BY KEVIN EASTMAN, PETER LAIRD, JIM LAWSON, KEITH AIKEN AND MATT BANNING

SYNOPSIS (MIXED WITH TURTLEPEDIA, TMNT ENTITY AND COMIC VINE)

Casey wakes up in Gabby's trailer, too injured to eat. Gabrielle tells Jones that he can stay there and rest up if he wants to, and Casey says that he might. Jones then dials the local police to report the incident, but when the operator answers he just hangs up. He grabs a drink and heads outside to take a walk.

April is reading about the Foot violence in the New York Times. The story sparks her memories of the Foot burning down her antique store. Robyn interrupts her sister's thoughts and the two head out to do some shopping.

Gabby gets an hour off so she heads home and is surprised to find Casey still there. Jones has cleaned up the trailer and made lunch that they share.

Master Splinter is in the woods of Northampton, Massachusetts, attempting to meditate, but something is on his mind and he cannot concentrate.

Casey and Gabby are talking about the family that Jones left behind in New York.

"You miss your family, huh Casey?" Gabby asks.

"Yeah, I guess..." Casey mumbles, "Yeah..."

Gabrielle takes Casey's hand and tells him, "I just want you to know... when you're ready... if you're ready... to tell me... I'll be here. Until then... I'd like you to stay."

With that out in the open, Gabby kisses Casey.

In New York City, an Asian businessman is riding on a bus. He opens his briefcase and connects a cordless phone to his laptop computer, using it to hack into the power company's computers. He flags an account as seven months overdue. The power company discovers this odd glitch and wonders how it got past them for so long without anyone noticing, but rather than investigate further, they simply shut off the electricity in a building - one that the Foot Soldiers are using as a headquarters.

In Tokyo, Japan we see a conference with numerous business people gathered around a table. A man notes that their software has almost completed beta test phase and that it is a pity that they allowed the New York factions to go to war for so long. A woman notes that it was to their advantage to wait.

"In chaos there is weakness." she states.

Back in New York City, the Turtles prevent a woman from being mugged by three men. Raphael is tired of being a street vigilante and wants to find the Foot.

We see the old man in the hospital, sitting up for the first time with assistance from his nurse.

Leonardo tells Raphael that they just need to wait, and that in time their path will be revealed.

"Could ya keep the Zen crap to yourself for now, Leo?" Raph sneers, "We don't all have your freakin' Buddha nature, ya know... some of us actually enjoy linear thought! Like me... if I can't figure out whose butt I'm supposed to kick soon, I'm just gonna - -"

With that, Raph sees a strange robot emerging from out of a van driven by Foot Soldiers.

"--bust--" Raphael concludes, "Oboy. ALL RIGHT!"

The robot starts destroying a nearby bus, the one that contains the businessman who had earlier hacked into the power company's computers. The Turtles attack the robot and an army of Foot Soldiers appear from nowhere. Chaos ensues. Raph manages to destroy the robot, and the guys regroup, only to find themselves surrounded by Foot Soldiers and two more robots.

"What a revoltin' development this is." Raph notes as the Foot close in.

Well, look at it this way, Raph," Mike states, "It can't get much worse!"

In the final panel we see one of Shredder's Elite poised on top of a building.

Master Splinter is still attempting to meditate in the woods of Northampton, Massachusetts but his efforts once again prove futile.

Casey has taken a job as a grocery bagger, but he messes up by putting the bread on the bottom of the bag, which enrages his boss. The angry older man gets in Jones' face and reads him the riot act and insults Jones. Casey gets angry and puts a bag over the man's head and punches him in the face, sending him flying. Jones then storms out, but as soon as he's outside he realizes that he needs the job and goes back inside. Casey apologizes for the incident and asks for his job back. The man makes Jones get on his knees and beg for the work, but then screams "NO!" in Casey's face. So Space Case lets another punch fly and heads out.

Karai's plane has arrived in the United States, and she boards a helicopter that takes her to Foot headquarters, an imposing skyscraper in New York City.

Casey and Gabby are watching a romantic sunset. Gabrielle announces that she's getting hungry and wants to head for home, but before Casey starts their Jeep, he produces a ring and proposes. Gabby accepts Casey's proposal and the two are engaged.

April is having dinner with a slick weasel with a ponytail. The man brags about his programming prowess and then grabs April by the knee. O'Neil throws her coffee on the fellow and storms out. As she walks home, April reflects on how much she dislikes California.

Master Splinter is awoken by a voice, insisting that the old rat must eat if he's to survive. The Sensei tells the voice that he has nothing to subsist on.

"Help me..." Splinter implores.

"The help you seek," the Voice replies, "Is your own."

"There is little nourishment in riddles, shadow." states Splinter.

"The riddle is yours... that which can sustain you is within your reach... but not yet within your grasp." the Voice notes.

"I'm hungry... cold... in pain... and yet you torment me. You are death." concludes the Sensei.

"I am not," the Voice states, "But I know death."

Leonardo encourages his brothers to go on a training run. Raphael is not interested, but after some cajoling, he agrees to go along.

The old man is sitting up at the hospital, gazing longingly at the shuttered window.

As the Turtles jump from rooftop to rooftop, Raphael steps in some dog dung. This enrages Raph and he angrily stalks off towards home. As Raph makes hi sway back, he's ambushed by one of Shredder's Elite Guard. Raph is badly cut on the face, but he manages to severely wound the Elite by stabbing him in the side with a sai, thus taking the Elite out of action. Leo, Mike and Don arrive just as the fighting ends. The Elite gazes up at Leonardo.

"Y-you... you are the kappa... that killed my Master... Oroku Saki!" he stammers.

"Yes." replies Leonardo.

"I am... duty bound... to slay you... to... avenge my Master..." the man croaks.

"I think your avengin' days are over, pal." notes Raph.

"Perhaps... in the next life..." notes the Elite.

"Perhaps." answers Leo.

With this, the Elite Guard commits seppuku.

Master Splinter continues arguing with the Voice.

"Who are you!!?" Splinter demands.

"I have had several names," comes the answer, "But considering the circumstances, perhaps none is more appropriate than this... you may call me... the Rat King."

At her programming job in LA, April is feeling restless.  She goes to her boss and states that the project he currently has her assigned to is a waste of time.  Her boss sends her back to her desk and tells her to finish it.  April sits back down, frustrated and angry.

At a Justice of the Peace's office in Colorado, Casey and Gabe tie the knot.  Returning to their trailer, Casey has decorated the whole place in a tropical island theme to serve as their honeymoon.  Gabe is thrilled with the gesture.

Inside the abandoned smokestack in Northampton, Splinter has been surviving off melted snow for water, though he needs food soon or he’ll perish.  The Rat King urges him to eat the rats that scurry about his reach, claiming that once Splinter dies, the rats will have no second thoughts about eating his remains.  Splinter refuses, believing himself to be above something as reprehensible as cannibalism.  The Rat King tells Splinter that he is making a mistake by trying to shed his animal nature in search of spiritual perfection.

Back in LA, April returns home to Robyn’s place in a foul mood.  She chides Robyn again for being messy and irresponsible and the two get into an argument. Robyn reminds April that their mother is dead and that April is not their father.

In the smokestack, Splinter grabs a rat, but lets it go; still unable to do the deed.  The Rat King calls Splinter a weak master for his students, but Splinter believes it better to die than give in.  Splinter asks if the Rat King is human and the Rat King reveals that he rejected his humanity long ago.

In New York, Karai and the Foot Clan have tracked the Turtles (who have grown sloppy) back to their water tower.  Karai has assembled a unit of Foot Soldiers from the remains of the New York branch that are lost and looking for leadership.  They plant a bomb beneath the tower, setting it on fire and sending the Turtles fleeing onto the rooftop.  The Turtles, caught totally unawares, struggle to battle the Foot Soldiers (while in the hospital, the old man lays quietly in his bed).

Karai orders her Foot Soldiers to take the Turtles alive and they break out their tasers.  The Foot Soldiers get Leo, zapping him unconscious.  Though they’re loathe to do it, the other Turtles retreat before they’re caught, too.  As they escape, Karai sends an arrow their way with a note attached.  The note contains a phone number.

At Robyn’s place, April receives a phone call from the Empire Estates Nursing Home.  As it turns out, their father passed away that morning.

REVIEW

When this story started, all these characters were in pain with their present. But as the story progresses, they start to figure out that they found their destiny, and that they cannot really avoid it. By being separated, they became weaker. If you like metaphors, all these divisions are reflected in the TV reports about conflicts in Europe and Asia. These fractures are food for vultures.

To make things more interesting, Karai made her debut in these issues. We are still not sure what she wants but... well... I already know the character :p

As for Casey’s story. I never heard of this Gabe before, so I don’t think that story is going to end well. And I think this mostly because of all the characters that are rediscovering themselves, Casey is the only one that seems to have been benefited by this arc. We’ll see.

The art got better with Matt Banning. It’s no secret that certain artists look better paired with certain inkers... maybe Keith Aiken wasn’t the right choice for Lawson.

I give these issues a score of 9.

[thehoneyxbadger]

the prodigal clone returns pt. 1

Who: Gabby Kinney/X23_GAB

Mentioned: @ladywolverines @jameslogans

When: Late March/ Early April 2020

Where: Alchemax Genetics CLASSIFIED

Notes: Gabby finds herself back in familiar clutches

Triggers: torture, experimentation, imprisonment

Word count: 1,318

When she woke the first time, Gabby was in a small cell, still dressed in prison uniform with the collar tight around her neck. Standing in the centre of the empty room, she could touch either side one way without stretching hard, and very nearly do so the other way too. Above her hung a dim, naked bulb, lighting the space. She’d never exactly been claustrophobic, but it was unnerving. Especially when she knew that the likelihood of anyone knowing where she was was slim at best. If they hadn’t been taking her under suspicious circumstances, why take her in the middle of the night with masked guards? Why drug her? They weren’t filling out the proper paperwork and notifying her attorney, Gabby was sure. She was naive at times, hopeful longer than most, but not stupid. 

This was bad.

The only question was, what was the particular type of bad she had gotten caught in.

And she had no way of finding out from inside this tiny concrete box. Close inspection of the door proved it to be heavy and unmoveable, with a deadbolt lock only accessible from the outside. There was a smaller locked portion of the door at the bottom, but Gabby had no idea what it could be for. It was certainly too small for even her to squeeze through--not to say she wouldn’t try if she could. It proved just as impossible to break anyway.

With worry creeping into her head, Gabby sat down against the wall furthest from the door. Time passed, but it was impossible to really say how much. With no clock, no windows, nothing to link her to the outside world, Gabby could only guess. And by the hunger pressing at her stomach, she’d guess she’d missed at least two meals since she’d been taken from the prison, if not an entire day. 

After what she guessed was a few hours since she woke, she found out what the smaller door was for. It unlocked for mere seconds, and a plate was pushed through, before the sliver of outside was blocked from view. “Hey!” Gabby shouted. “Hey!” But she might as well have simply been shouting at the wall for all the response she got. With a groan, she looked at the food. Simple and gross looking, cold to the careful prod of her fingers. Gabby had eaten worse. There was no denying she was hungry either. She ate the food down quickly, finding it lacking any kind of satisfaction. Nor did it fill her up. But it did stave off the hunger for now.

She sat back down again, trying to come up with some kind of plan, however difficult that was when she was so in the dark about her circumstances. What else could she do?

Time passed, still impossible to know how slowly. Gabby could only mark time by her meals, but she suspected that they were not regular, nor three a day. It was making her restless, being trapped in this tiny box. The cat enclosures at the animal shelter were bigger than this, and only one small animal lived in those. The animals got fed better than she was too.

Six meals later (three days? four?) things changed when the bigger lock turned and the full door swung open. Gabby scrambled to her feet, but she had been ambushed and outmatched. Rushed by guards, she managed to get a few hits in before she felt something against her neck and her world went dark again.

                                                             ------------

Gabby woke with a gasp, as cold water was unceremoniously dumped over her head. She was strapped to a chair, unable to move anything other than her head, in another windowless room. Only she was no longer alone. The only positive change was the now lack of collar around her neck, although it was hard to be too thankful for that. Still, she spat the water from her mouth and glared at the people before her. “You don’t scare me,” she claimed. They couldn’t hurt her. One of them simply smiled--an unsettling smile--and nodded. A cloth was placed over Gabby’s face and more water was poured. This time in a steadier stream. It was an awful sensation, like her head was beind held beneath the water. She couldn’t breathe, but she had to try, only to feel like she was gasping in water. It stopped, and she was given just enough time to cough and catch her breath before it happened again. This time, afterwards the cloth was ripped off, leaving Gabby shaking. “What do you want from me?”

“For you to understand, X23_4GAB, the consequences of what you did.”

Gabby felt the blood drain from her face as it all suddenly clicked into place. No. She didn’t want to be back here. She opened her mouth to speak, only to have the cloth shoved back over her face, muffling any words she spat at them. She braced herself for more water, but instead felt a slight prick in her arm. Before she could think too much about that, the water resumed. That drowning sensation returned, but even when the water stopped, Gabby felt like she was suffocating somehow as she slipped out of consciousness

                                                                 ------------

She ebbed in and out of consciousness, never quite sure what was a dream and what was reality. Some things she was pretty sure were just memories--Zelda dying from gunshot wounds, the escape from Alchemax with three sisters, waking Laura--and others that she thought must be dreams--Logan’s claws cut through her flesh so easily as if he was trying to kill her--and some she thought might be real--strapped to a table, she can hear someone talking but the harsh lamp in her eyes kept them in silhouette--but in the state she was in it was impossible to know for sure. And flashes of a bare room, one that was hauntingly familiar.

When her eyes finally opened, and Gabby was sure she was awake this time--at least for now, the world still felt unsteady--it was in that room that she awoke. Her jaw clenched as she realised why it was so familiar. This was her old room. Where she and her sisters were kept. Gabby felt tears prick at her eyes, and hot anger building in her. She would not stay here again. She couldn’t. Not aga--

The door opened, forcing Gabby to the present and her feet. As she does, she stumbled, unsteady and off balance. An unsual feeling for her. She swallowed hard, shaking it off as much as she could--while trying not to tremble--and giving a glare that her sisters could be proud of. “If you think you’re going to keep me here again, you’ve got another thing comin’!”

“Again?” The man, middle aged and with the air of someone used to being listened to, stepped into the room. “What do you mean again?”

“I--” Gabby’s glare faltered with confusion for just a moment. Flashes of memories--of she and her sisters being caught in their attempt to escape, of the punishment that followed--paralysed her. No, that’s not right... We got out. I found Laura. We... But she wasn’t sure. She couldn’t be sure. The man gave her what she supposed was his version of a kind smile. Or it would’ve been kind if it didn’t look like a predator cornering prey. “No!” she snapped. “That’s not--”

“I think you might’ve been injured a bit more than we realised in that last mission,” the man mused, interrupting her like she never spoke. “That knock to the head was pretty nasty. Even for you.” Gabby stepped back into a defensive position, claws out, as the man stepped closer. He stopped with a sigh. “I guess you need more time to recover.” He left the room, and a small hiss was emitted from the walls. Gabby could smell something for a moment before the world went black.